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CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM NIS CITY MAYOR

January 6th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, on the occasion of the Christmas celebration, extended his greetings to all fellow citizens: “In the light of the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to all believers and the clergy of the Orthodox religion, I wish that this most joyful holiday of Christian culture is welcomed surrounded by the closest ones, in peace, love, health and joy. May the grace of the birth of Christ forever remind us of the power of love, of goodness, of communion, and of the beauty and richness of religious, cultural and all other diversity. Let us rejoice in each other, exchange words of love and warmth, forgive mistakes, and strengthen our faith and hope. May Christmas bring to my fellow citizens spiritual peace, prosperity, success and happiness. Merry Christmas!”




NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS BY NIS CITY MAYOR

Dear Fellow citizens,

We are all one big family in front of whom there are the same tasks:  to build better, more successful and happier future in our common home.

 

On the verge of the new 2019, we can confidently tell you: we left most difficult and the worst behind. We have stabilized public finances and set solid foundation for successful, developing and working year of 2019. During the year ahead of us we are going to allocate significant funds to solve the problems which had been burdening our city for the past decades. In 2019 more resources than ever before in the history of the city will be invested in the construction of infrastructure, security and health, in science, education, culture and sports. We will build streets, water supply networks, roads and kindergartens, we will reconstruct schools and we will create more pleasant, more beautiful and more modern Nis.

Dear fellow citizens, every home, every man and every job is equally important to me. And therefore, we are working and we will be working even harder on the revival of the economy, the strengthening of the investment climate, the opening of new jobs and the higher living standard that every our citizen deserves. A year of construction is ahead of us, a year of progress, a year of new jobs, a year of peaceful, pleasant and better quality of life.

My dear fellow citizens, only as a community, gathered and united, with our work, efforts and dedication, we can create good opportunities in the coming year. All my life I have been an optimist and that is how I feel about the years to come. Strengthened by the hope and faith, we can, together, as one large family, go into a safer, more successful and better future. I wish to you health, happiness and success in 2019.




SPEECH BY NIS CITY MAYOR AT THE NEW YEAR’S RECEPTION

At the traditional New Year’s reception Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic summarized the achievements of the past year and announced plans for the next:

 

“We are at the very end of the passing year and on the doorstep of the coming year. This is a moment when we have to look back at the year 2018, to look at what we did and what kind of foundations we set for 2019. This festive evening we can rightfully say that a difficult year, a year full of challenges, difficulties and uncertainties, but also years of success, work, peace and prosperity is behind us.

There is no doubt that 2018 was a decisive year in the development of the modern Nis. During last year 3 new large factories were opened in Nis, where the value of investments was over 80 million euros and that would employ at least 4,500 workers. On the well-established foundations in 2018, we continue to build in 2019. Next year we expect the construction of a new Johnson Electric Factory, the expansion of the Leoni factory, as well as the beginning of the operations of the Zumtobel subcontractors, which will employ over 500 workers. We are negotiating with over 10 new potential investors and we are sure that in 2019, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Nis will be an ideal destination for new investors. Special attention is paid to medium, small and micro enterprises in the strategies and the policies of the City of Nis. City of Nis, with the support of the Serbian Government, allocated RSD 110 million to support domestic micro, small and medium enterprises and has supported over 300 domestic companies through numerous stimulus measures.

We all have to agree about one thing – science, economy and advanced technologies – they are the three most powerful pillars on which we are building modern Nis. As the crown of all efforts, the foundation stone for the decade-old dream of the City of Nis was laid – Scientific Technology Park, the largest and most powerful ever investment in young people, in science and education.

At the end of this 2018 we can proudly say that we have built the most modern and largest Clinical Center in the entire Balkans, that we have built and that we are building key road directions, and the roads are important, because every new road is a new road to the future! Today, the largest national projects are being implemented in Nis, such as the project of construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant with a network of collectors worth EUR 55 million.

Nis today is an ideal place for realization of large investment projects. All preparations were made for the big investment project by Delta Company in the construction of a commercial business center worth about 70 million euros. After a few years of delay, Novi Nis Project is progressing real well. The realization of commercial investments, such as the Delta Planet Shopping Center and Novi Nis Residential and Commercial Complex, prove that the economic situation in Nis is improving. These data, as exact and statistical indicators, show that the City of Nis is indeed a city of the future.

 

The most powerful proof is the solving of the biggest problem of today, that is, the decrease of the number of unemployed and creation of new jobs. At the moment, there is lowest possible unemployment rate in recent years. The number of unemployed, just two years ago, was about 33,000, and this number was reduced by almost 10,000 in just two years.

Our results are recognized at the national and international level: at the national level, the City of Nis was declared the Champion of Local Economic Development in the category of attracting investments for 2018/2019. Also, the Financial Times ranked the City of Nis at the 7th place as the City of the Future for 2018/2019. Nis, as a region, came in the third place in the category of small European regions with regard to attracting foreign direct investment

Dear associates and friends of the City of Nis,

New Year is a symbol of a new beginning of life, a new hope for the future. I am deeply convinced that, with joint forces, with a unique will, and above all  with diligent and hard work we can achieve a common dream and build a modern, powerful, European Nis, a “smart city”, a place that attracts tourists from all over the world and has a great reputation in the international public. Dear associates, as we are together in these pre-holiday and festive days, we are together in our everyday tasks. And precisely, our work together, friendship and sincere love of our city and our only, beloved Serbia, multiply our forces for the battle for great achievements.

Let New Year’s holidays bring the best in us, let us encourage solidarity in our neighbors, the joy of giving by which we enrich and make our own life happy; these days, but also throughout the year, we should be saying kind words to each other, we should forgive each other, we should declare and multiply love, we should enrich each other’s soul with care, respect and care. I sincerely wish that in 2019 every person’s life changes for the better.

 

I sincerely wish, to all my fellow citizens, personal and family happiness, tranquility, well-being, happiness and every personal and professional success. May 2019 bring peace and prosperity to our Serbia and our beloved Nis. May 2019 be happy, healthy and prosperous for all citizens of Nis and all citizens of Serbia. Long live!




MEMORIAL PLAQUE AT NIS AIRPORT UNVEILED

December 27th
Ten years ago Russian specialists began demining of the terrain and airport runways in Nis. On the occasion of 10th anniversary, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the airport terminal. The ceremony was attended by the city top officials and the cultural attaché and the first adviser to the Russian Embassy Aleksandar Konanihin. In addition to cluster bombs, Russian Special Forces also found four air bombs, five mortar mines, seven bullets for an anti-aircraft weapons and one detonator, and some parts of the arsenal originated from the Second World War. Over 704,000 square meters at the airport and its surroundings were examined during demining operations. The Government of the Russian Federation had approved six million dollars  for the demining activities at the location of Nis airport. This memorial plaque represents a modest sign of the gratitude of the citizens of Nis for the professionally done job of removing the remnants of bombs from the airport area.

 




THE CULTURAL ATTACHE OF THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY VISITED NIS

December 27th
 
On the occasion of the unveiling of the memorial plaque at the Nis airport, in memory of the 10th anniversary of the removal of the unexploded explosive items from the area of Nis Airport,
Aleksandar Nikolaevich Konanihin, the attaché of culture and first adviser at the Russian Embassy visited Nis. He met with the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur and then they all together attended the ceremony of unveiling the memorial plaque. During the meeting the cooperation between the city and the Russian Embassy was rated as very good. The officials discussed providing assistance to the Serbian-Russian Friendship Association, which the City of Nis, along with the embassy, would help logistically and financially. The representatives of the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center attended the meeting in the held at Nis City Hall.

 




CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM NIS CITY MAYOR

December 24th
Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic extended his greeting on the occasion of the Christmas, the most joyous Christian holiday, to all those celebrating Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar.
“May this great holiday bring health, love and hope to you. Celebrate it in peace, rest and joy, in the circle of your loved ones; let the holiday strengthen the most human values, such as, respect, appreciation and understanding of diversity.”

 




MEETING WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY (Sida)

The meeting dedicated to the progress of the project of collection and treatment of waste waters in Nis between the City of Nis Project Unit with the representatives of the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida), the representatives of the EU delegation in Serbia in charge for the projects in environmental sector, the representatives of the RS Ministry of Environmental Protection took place at Nis City Hall. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic pointed out that this project was of great importance for the city and citizens of Nis and that, for the purpose of the construction of the wastewater treatment plant, about 500 land parcels out of a total of more than 600 parcels had been expropriated. Nis project includes 6 important infrastructure components, estimated at over 50 million euros, with over 35 kilometers of city sewerage network. The development of the necessary infrastructure in the area of water management in Nis was made possible by Sweden, the largest bilateral donor of Serbia in the field of environmental protection, and the representatives of the Sida assessed that the process of preparing technical documentation was going according to the planned dynamics. According to official data, about 8% of municipal wastewater is being treated. By 2041, we should fully comply with the European standards for this area and build 320 plants for the treatment of waste water in Serbia. The project of collecting and processing wastewater in Nis will be one of the first in this area.




GERMAN AMBASSADOR VISITED NIS

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the German Ambassador to Serbia Mr. Thomas Schieb talked today at  Nis City Hall on cooperation in the field of economy and culture between the city and one of the most developed countries in Europe. At present, there are 400 German companies operating in Serbia, and this country is leading by number of investors with a constant trend of improvement of cooperation. Mayor Bulatovic said, among other things, that he presented to Ambassador Schieb the projects of the City of Nis. “Our great potential lies in the IT sector and the trained and educated workforce, which we believe could be of interest to German companies in this area,” the Mayor said. Ambassador Schieb said that Niš was an interesting economic destination and that German economic relations with Serbia were improving due to the joint efforts of the chambers of commerce of the two countries. After the meeting with the Mayor went Faculty of the Philosophy for the ceremonial opening of the German Language and Literature Department.




VISITOR CENTER AT THE CAVE CERJE

The construction of the Visitor Center at Cave Cerje is nearing completion. If the weather does not slow down the works the building will be completely finished by the end of the year. The works were visited today by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the director of the Tourist Organization of Nis, Uros Parlic. The facility is built with funds provided from the Interreg IPA cross-border project implemented together by TON and Sofia. The total budget of the project is 587,695 Euros. 477,208 euros is a donation of the European Union, while the rest of the funds were provided by the City of Nis. The Visitor Center will have the exhibition and gallery space, the accommodation for speleological equipment, restaurant and space for rest for the visitors as well as the space for guides, security and sale of tickets, and sanitary facilities. Mayor Bulatovic said that this was one of the most important projects for the city when it was about the development of tourism in Nis. “It is a significant project not only because of the location of the Cave Cerje and its potentials, the large number of speleologists and tourists that visit it. This will not serve only for the purpose of this site, but it is significant for the whole area where there are monasteries, spas, cave complexes, and many other sites interesting for the tourists”, as Mayor Bulatovic said. According to the Municipality of Pantelej the works will begin on the asphalting of the missing road in the length of 300 meters and the construction of bus stop near the center, which will make the complex complete and infrastructural available at all times.




AMBASSADOR OF INDIA VISITED NIS

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with the recently appointed Ambassador of India to Serbia His Excellency Subrata Bhattacharjee at the Niš City Hall. In a cordial conversation, they expressed hope that relations between Serbia and India would be further strengthened, with emphasis on the traditionally good ties existing between the two countries. Mayor Bulatovic said after the meeting that their discussion mainly focused on economic topics and that he briefed the Ambassador about investment opportunities in this part of Serbia. Ambassador Bhattacharjee said that it was actually the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic who introduced a new era in relations between the two countries, recalling President Vucic’s visit to India in 2017 in the capacity of prime minister, which was the first visit of a Serbian high official after thirty years. Regarding potential investments in Nis by Indian companies, Ambassador said that in accordance with his authorizations, he will convey the message from today’s meeting to Indian business people, adding that IT sector is of most interest to Indian companies which could eventually expand their business operations to this part of Serbia.