Strategy for long-term economic development of southern Serbia, municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

The Economic Team for Kosovo and Metohija and Southern Serbia has developed a Strategy for Long-Term Economic Development of Southern Serbia in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, which will represent program support for the realization of priority goals in all areas of economy and economy. Given that these are environments that are in very unfavorable socio-economic conditions, the importance of drafting the Strategy is to provide support for activating all development potentials and overcoming the features of underdevelopment and help businesses to prepare for business in modern market conditions. The strategy was prepared with the aim of accelerated economic development of the municipalities that are part of the Pčinja and Jablanica districts, which are among the least developed districts in the Republic of Serbia. After a detailed and comprehensive review of the current economic level of development and development opportunities of these municipalities, the basic economic potentials and strategic directions of their valorization have been identified. This Strategy is harmonized with the strategies of economic development, the Strategy of Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the EU and other strategies. The implementation of the Strategy will ensure the economic stability and prosperity of these municipalities and the improvement of the living standard of the citizens, which are the basic preconditions for the improvement of stability in the south of Serbia. Main goals of the Strategy are: 1) Creating a stimulating economic environment, as a precondition for attracting domestic and foreign direct investments, given that there is no financial potential of local companies to launch a significant investment cycle. 2) Strengthening the capacity of local governments to provide services to existing companies and companies starting operations in these municipalities. Special attention is paid to their connection with the competent institutions of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic Agencies in charge of economic development. 3) Valorization of the use of local resources, given that in these municipalities there are significant natural potentials (forests, mineral deposits, agricultural land, thermal spring). A special contribution to the realization of this goal will be provided by the completion of the part of the highway of the pan-European corridor 10, whose route intersects the territories of these municipalities. The realization and realization of these goals is based on improvements within 6 development priorities: 1) infrastructure; 2) agriculture and rural development; 3) industry, services and SME development; 4) tourism; 5) development of human potential and social issues; 6) attracting foreign direct investment. The strategy also contains an Action Plan within which projects for defined priority areas are given, by municipalities. The Action Plan also defines the holders and deadlines for the implementation of the listed projects. The responsible work of local self-governments, as well as their full cooperation with the institutions of the Republic of Serbia on the realization of projects that are within their competence, will especially contribute to the implementation of this strategy.
Basic principles of the Strategy are as follows: Partnership - creating a strong partnership involving the public, private sector and local associations. Partnerships will be built at the local, sub-regional and higher levels, with government agencies and republican bodies; Promoting equal opportunities - no group will be excluded from the regional development process and all aspects of the community should be encouraged to participate in regional development. Sustainability - The Strategy will make every effort to establish programs and projects that have long-term economic and social effects. Quality - the need to achieve the highest quality standards will be emphasized in all activities of the Strategy. Integration and coordination - the activities of the Strategy will be integrated, and will complement the goals of the national strategy of economic development of Serbia, other national sectoral strategies, as well as EU policies and programmes; Innovation - development and promotion of new ways of managing the needs of the region will be encouraged in all activities of the Strategy. Cooperation - Strategies will promote the will of people from the region to encourage good cooperation and partnership with other regions in Serbia, the countries of Southeast Europe and the European Union, with the aim of progress, through faster knowledge transfer and best applications.
The Annex is part of this publication (full text and schematic contents of the Action plan).