Serbia signs agreement on UAE loan

BELGRADE/ABU DHABI - Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance Hamad Al Hurr Al Suwaidi and Serbian Finance Minister Lazar Krstic signed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday an agreement on the USD 1 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates to the Serbian budget.

Krstic said that the loan agreement reflects a considerable strengthening of the two countries' ties.

“This loan will open new possibilities for cooperation and fostering economic and trade relations. It will offer support to the Serbian economy and open numerous possibilities for investments by both sides. The loan will also promote the objective of establishing joint projects between the two countries,” Krstic said, as released on the website of the Serbian Ministry of Finance.

The chairman of the Abu Dhabi department of finance said that the loan will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation and relations between Serbia and the UAE serving the interests of both countries and encouraging the UAE private and public sector to search for possibilities of investment in Serbia.

The relations between Serbia and the UAE are on an upward trajectory in various sectors and today's agreement reflects the two countries' efforts to develop their cooperation and bilateral relations even more, Suwadi said.

The money will be transferred in a single tranche, once the legal conditions are created, when the law is ratified by the Serbian parliament after the forthcoming elections, early in the second quarter of 2014, the ministry's statement reads.

Photo Tanjug, F. Kraincanic (archive)