Mr. Minister Sarcevic,

Mrs. Director Danilovic,

Dear Partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am pleased we are again here today to promote young innovators from across Serbia, four years after the Minister of Economy of Switzerland, Federal Councillor Mr. Schneider-Ammann inaugurated Belgrade’s Science and Technology Park.

It’s our pleasure to present a new Swiss cooperation project called “Boosting Exports Through Technoparks”, a new project that we are going to sign here with the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development. The total budget of the project amounts CHF 3.75 Mio / € 3.3 Mio. But it is less a question of money than a question of friendship and solidarity between our two countries.

This intervention capitalizes on earlier support provided to the Science Technology Park in Belgrade.

I must say, that some impressive results were achieved, including more than 100 new jobs created in high-tech and innovation field as well as 12 million €  of additional income thanks to the export of services.

We have decided continue to cooperate in this field, because we know that based on our experience results can be very positive.

Swiss schools and universities are among the best in the world and form the foundation of our innovative strength.

The ecosystem for innovation which has been worked out through decades continuously injects new technology from research into the Swiss economy.

Innovation parks across Switzerland offer our universities and our companies a space for networking and, doing so, offer them the opportunity to create synergies for additional economic growth.  

This exchange between science and economy allows ideas to shine and be developed further, to produce products and services that can be brought to the market successfully.

This collaborative experience leads to successful innovation, which we are convinced will also be achieved in Serbia via Science Technology Parks.

With this new project, we aim at further developing a network in Nis and Čačak that will stimulate development based on innovation and knowledge, and increase the competitiveness of Serbia’s high-tech industry.

Cooperation among science technology parks across Serbia developed by this project will also support regional development in the field of innovation. It will animate youth toward tech innovation and start-up opportunities. Doing so, this project will also contribute to mitigate the brain drain of the youth, a serious threat for the Serbian economy.

In order to further stimulate growth, a large part of the project will be dedicated to provide pre-seed financial support aimed to speed up the establishment and development of start-ups across Serbia.

Through various trainings and mentor support, the project will provide start-ups the necessary knowledge and skills to develop their innovations and enter the global market.

Swiss Intellectual Property Office will also be active in this project. It will provide the necessary know-how transfer to the Science Technology Parks.

They will support companies with intellectual property right issues, a topic often underestimated by start-ups.

Companies like Dotas, Technokratija, Info Home, and New Look Entertainment are part of this new wave of high-tech coming from Serbia. We are convinced that this new cooperation project between our two countries will encourage many more to follow their leadership, certain we are, that this industry has the capacity to innovate and develop future Serbian high-tech solutions for the world.

Thank you for your attention and wish you a lot of success in realizing your innovative potential.