VZCZCXRO2892
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1615/01 3380853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040853Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1835
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 0029
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001615 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/OEERIS/SSAVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: DYNAMIC MAYOR OUTLINES A VISION FOR A BETTER 
SERBIA 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1.  During a visit to Indjija, a small city located 45 minutes from 
Belgrade the Ambassador had an opportunity to see first hand a 
dynamic local Mayor's success in attracting investment and building 
a foundation for economic prosperity.  Mayor Jesic is a young, 
energetic leader who is working to build a successful future for 
Serbia.  U.S. assistance programs have played an important role in 
supporting Indjija and the Mayor's efforts.  End Summary. 
 
 
Indjija - Small City Thinks Big 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  During a November 8 visit to Indjija, a city of approximately 
50,000 halfway between Serbia's two largest cities of Belgrade and 
Novi Sad, the Ambassador saw first hand a city that leads the way in 
attracting investment and building economic opportunity.  Indjija is 
led by a dynamic 33 year-old mayor, Goran Jesic, now serving his 
second term who sets the tone and the pace for Indjija.  Jesic's 
"rock star" qualifications are well earned when looking at the 
success of Indjija.  Since Jesic was elected, there has been $440 
million in foreign investment in Indjija, 35 international firms 
operate in the municipality and ten new factories are under 
construction. 
 
¶3.  Jesic thinks big.  During the summer of 2007 Indjija organized a 
concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers that attracted nearly 
100,000 from all over Serbia and neighboring countries.  The concert 
was held in one of the city's two industrial zones to take maximum 
advantage, according to the Mayor, of "an unbeatable advertising 
opportunity" to promote Indjija and the economic opportunities and 
infrastructure available. 
 
Indjija: A Model of US Assistance 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Mayor Jesic and Indjija have been strong partners with U.S. 
assistance programs.  The Mayor was an international visitor program 
participant in 2002.  During that visit and subsequent trips he was 
exposed to a number of municipal governance initiatives that he has 
brought to Serbia.   Indjija is an active partner in USAID municipal 
development programs, including the Municipal Economic Growth 
Initiative.   Indjija has become such a successful model for 
municipal good governance initiatives that cities around Serbia now 
come to Indjija for training. 
 
Young Leader an Example for Others 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Mayor Jesic is a rising star in the Democratic Party (DS) and in 
Serbian politics.  He recently made a short-lived jump to the 
national level when he was appointed by Deputy Prime Minister Djelic 
to be an advisor for foreign direct investment.  Following a ruling 
by the state ethics board that Jesic could not hold a central 
government position while still Mayor, Jesic resigned as an advisor 
yet he remains a model for other leaders in Serbia.  The head of 
ESCA, a firm that makes all the hamburgers sold by McDonald's in 
Serbia, spoke highly of the Mayor's willingness to get personally 
involved to support businesses.  Jesic went to Belgrade and spent a 
day at the Ministry of Ecology resolving a permit problem that ESCA 
had faced during the firm's start up. 
 
Technology Park an Example of Jesic's Investment Push 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6.  This fall Indjija made headlines with the announcement of an 
agreement with the Indian firm business park developer Embassy Group 
to construct a technology park.  This project was Jesic's 
brainchild, and could involve an investment of more than $600 
million.  In the first two years, the project envisages development 
of 25,000 square meters of business space and the creation of 2,000 
jobs.  Later, the business space could be expanded to employ as many 
as 25,000 workers.  This will be Embassy Group's first park in 
Europe.  The firm's clients in Asia include IBM, Microsoft, HP, 
Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Yahoo, Google, Daimler, Lenovo, NVIDIA, 
etc. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. Mayor Jesic has a bright political future and is an example of 
the future-oriented thinking that our policies and assistance are 
promoting.  Jesic is articulate in outlining his concerns, such as 
moves to return to indirect election of mayors, and slow progress on 
devolving property and authority to local governments.  At the same 
time he is focused on building a climate for investment in Serbia, 
not just in Indjija, with talk of building capacity in the education 
and training system and reaching out to Western investors to 
encourage participation in the privatization of large state-owned 
 
BELGRADE 00001615  002 OF 002 
 
 
Serbian firms.  Indjija's success shows what can be done in Serbia 
with long-term vision and leadership.   End Comment. 
 
MUNTER