October 19^th

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic today officially opened in Nis factory “Aster Textile”, one of the leading Turkish textile companies, and added that Serbia was proud of the Turkish investors. “Aster Textile” has invested €9 million in the construction of the Nis factory, which is equipped with modern machines, and it employs 300 workers. The Prime Minister congratulated the director of the factory “Aster Textile” Ismail Koca on what has been done so far. He also visited the premises of the factory and expressed the hope that in the next two years it would employ 2,000 young citizens of Nis. He also talked with workers and wished them successful work. The opening of the factory was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic, Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic, Turkish Ambassador to Serbia Mehmed Kemal Bozay and Nis Mayor Darko Bulatovic. The factory was established in Turkey in 1993 as a company specialising in fashion design and production, whose centers for business development are located in Istanbul, London and Barcelona, and whose manufacturing plants are in Turkey and Bangladesh. The annual turnover of the factory is €100 million, and it has production capacity of more than 2.5 million pieces of fashion items.

October 19^th

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said today, after the signing of the Contract on building a production plant of company Leoni in Nis that this was a great day for this city since 2,500 people would soon get a job here. After the signing of the contract at the City Hall in Nis, Vucic expressed gratitude to the German government and company Leoni, and invited them to open more factories in our country. He said that the Serbian government has so far allocated €31 million for subsidies to company “Leoni”, noting that the operation of the plant, in addition to creating new jobs, will contribute to growth of the city budget of Nis budget through taxes and contributions. The Prime Minister recalled that there are around 29,000 unemployed in Nis and that the opening of the new factory will employ 10 percent of people who are out of work, which is very important. Vucic announced that the foundation stone for the construction of this plant will be set up in December, while the factory is scheduled to start operating in August next year. He pointed out that an agreement was made with “Leoni” that it would employ at least 2,200 people, but he believes that 2,500 people will be employed by the end of 2018.
The Contract on subsidies was signed by Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic and Director of Leoni Clemens Sachs. The signing ceremony was attended by German Ambassador to Serbia Axel Dittmann and Nis Mayor Darko Bulatovic. The contract was signed for the investment of “Leoni AG” in the construction of a new plant in Nis, worth €22 million.

The company “Leoni AG” is one of the global leaders in the production of cable installations for the automotive industry and in 2015 it employed more than 75,000 workers in 92 production plants. Leoni is headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany, and operates in more than 32 countries around the world. It recorded a turnover of €4.5 billion, with a profit of €77.3 million. This company has been operating in Serbia since 2009, and has plants in Prokuplje and Doljevac.

October 13^th

UN special rapporteur on the rights in the field of culture Karim Benun met today in Nis with Nis City Mayor Dark Bulatovic and his associates, within her several-day visit to our country. A visit to Nis, a city in which 20 national minorities live, is part of the planned activities of Mrs. Benun, who is in Serbia for the first time in order to become acquainted with the state of cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage in this region. Mayor Bulatovic informed Karim Benun about the activities that the city has been carrying out in this field and pointed out that Nis has always been a city of different cultures, religions and nations, and that this difference has been seen as a wealth and opportunity for the development and improvement of the lives of all its inhabitants.