Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday promised billions of euros in investments for his country by 2027, a month after his victory in the elections, still contested by the opposition which took the matter to the Constitutional Court.
“
We have worked for months to develop this plan which talks about what we are going to do for Serbia over the next four years
,” said Aleksandar Vucic in an address lasting about two hours on state television (RTS ).
To achieve these ambitions, Serbia will need to “
maintain the peace
” and send a clear message that it “
remains on its European path
” aimed at ultimately joining the EU, said Aleksandar Vucic.
This plan, called “
A Leap into the Future 2027
”, provides for investments in infrastructure, in the construction of hundreds of kilometers of highways, railways, schools, nurseries and hospitals but also in mines where Serbia is, he said, “
the furthest behind
”.
The plan, the method of financing of which he did not specify, also includes projects already announced in the past, such as the Belgrade bus station or a new children's hospital.
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“
The GDP, if we do everything we have planned, will increase in 2027 from the current 33 billion euros to 92.7 billion euros and the average salary from the current 836 euros to 1,400 euros
,” said Aleksandar Vucic.
“
As far as lithium is concerned, the decision is up to the future government, personally I am for it
,” he said, reiterating his position in favor of the exploitation of the subsoil to extract this ore, used in batteries.
A subsidiary of the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto filed four complaints in November against the Serbian government for having suspended a very controversial lithium mining project in January 2022.
This involves exploiting one of the largest lithium reserves in Europe, located in western Serbia.
The government's decision followed weeks of protests.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic also intervened to highlight the “
exponential growth of the IT sector
” and ensure that Serbia was ready to face the challenge of artificial intelligence (AI).
The Serbian opposition is contesting the outcome of the December 17 elections won by the ruling party (SNS, nationalist right).
She appealed to the Constitutional Court on Thursday to have the result annulled, an opposition official told AFP.
The opposition cites fraud and vote buying.