Борба, 04. 02. 1998., стр. 7

BORBA

SERBIAN PRIME

Destabilise the Dinar Failed

Belgrade, - Serbia’s Prime Minister said in es on Monday that the recent efforts to destabilise the national currency, the dinar, and rovoke a shortage on the market ad failed. fsa

‘I hope they lost heavily in the attempt,’ Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic told the Belgrade Politika Hewspaper in an aera

€ government of the Yugos republic of Serbia has made mak mely intervention and the dinar has recovered In record time, according to Marjanovic.

For days, the so-called independent media had been prophesying doom and gloom, forecasting a further weakening of the dinar, devalutation and total economic collapse he said. j

The dailies Nasa Borba, Blic, Demokratija, Dnevni Telegraf, Vecernje Novosti, the weekly Nedeljni Telegraph, Studio B television channel and ae oe sea had been

ing with each other in spreadi sale. he added. P "8

They were spreading lies, he went on to say, about the country sliding inexorably back into hype- Marjanovic rinflation, when the average pay i check could barely buy a kilo of coffee.

Here they had the wholehearted help and support of some econo-

Serbian governmen

are serving the inte

MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT RECEIVED LOMA DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TONY L

Focus on the Political Situation

Podgorica, – Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic received Monday'in Podgorica the British Deputy Foreign Minister Tony Lloyd. =

Djukanovic and Lloyd told a press conference they had discussed the political and economic situation in Montenegro and its status within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The talk focused on normalizing the political situation in Montenegro which should enable the republic to concentrate on the fundamental goals of democratization, economic reforms and international relations, Djukanovic said.

Montenegrin authorities are determined to preserve civic peace and security in order to stabilize the situation in Yugoslavia and pursue positive political and economic reforms in Montenegro and Yugoslavia, Djukanovic said.

Lloyd said Britain supported the reform process in Montenegro and endorsed the results of the presidential election, without any reference to its legitimity. ( CHINESE AMBASSADOR ZHU ANKANG

mists, who had lon traded in economics for politics, h

These ‘independent. researchers’

7 ? has made a timely sntervention: Mirko Marjanovic

reign centres of power, according to

He added that they ‘are working to destabilise their own country, create chaos; disturb the people and so fetter our reforms and all our efforts to create an economically

BORBA IN ENGLISH

MI 70 POLITIKA NEW erin MIRKO MARJANOVIC IN AN INTERVIEW

Kecent Attempt to

strong and stable Serbia through an ownership transformation and fundamental reforms.’

The so-called independent media,

‘with their subservience to those who have an interest in weakening Serbia’s position by exhausting it economically, were instrumental in creating serious disturbances on the market, Marjanovic said.

They helped erode the living standards of the people and heighten their unease, he added.

However, they failed again, the Serbian government made a timely intervention and the dinar recovered in record time, he said, adding that the government had also reined in marketeers, who had again tried to apply their notorious methods to earn easy money.

He went on to say that the Serbian government was continuing to pursue its policy of economic stability and to implement reforms as planned.

_ ‘This is the only way to create a rich and prosperous society. I believe that together we can achieve this. It is in the interest of all to live better, in peace and prosperity, without stress and uncertainty.’

‘I am sure that this is why you support the reform course of our government,’ Marjanovic said.

e insisted.

rests of some fo-

TONY LLOYD

Belgrade, - Federal | Foreign Minister Ziva| din Jovanovic received jon Monday the State | Minister at the Foreign | Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ; Tony Lloyd.

| The Federal Foreign

Ministry said that ex| changed were views on f issues of the develop| ment of bilateral coope¢ ration, situation in the | region and relations between the Federal Repu| blic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the European # Union (EU). .

It was said that Yugoslav - British relations ; and cooperation, especisally in the economic | sphere, are on an up| ward trend but that their content and level are still considerably lag| ging behind the two countries possibilities and interests.

Jovanovic and Lloyd set out that development in the region is characte-

F.R.Y. - CROAT COMMITTEES FOR MISSING PERSONS CONVENE. |

IN ZAGREB

Answers to Yugoslav Requests

Belgrade, - Experts of the Federal Committee of the Federal Republic

of Yugoslavia for Huma-

nitarian Issues and Missing Persons and the Committee of the Republic of Croatia for Imprisoned and Missing Persons met in Zagreb yesterday for two-day talks, the Federal Information Secretariat has said.

The meeting follows on a recent visit by Bob Dole, the chairman of the International Committee for Missing Persons (ICMP) in FRY, the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as promises by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman that the Croa-

R

tian side would fulfill all its obligations and provide answers to Yugoslav requests.

The Yugoslav commit: ' tee expects the Croat side

to finally fulfill all its obligations and respond to the priority demands of FRY, it was said. The statement said the demanded are all protocols in Croat possession regarding persons gone missing in operations Flash and Storm, data on the fate of the pilots of the former Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), a group of JNA soldiers captured on May 2, 1992 near Donja Koliba - Bosanski Brod. JNA reservists arrested near Mostar in 1992 - the Niksic and Savnik groups and a

group of 21 Serb troops arrested by the Croat police in the summer of 1991 before the outbreak of the war. Other individual requests include the remains of JNA members killed during attacks on JNA barracks in Croatia. The Yugoslav committee is ready to fully fulfill its obligations. Handed over to the Croation side will be all the remaining protocols for persons missing in Vukovar in 1991, the statement said and added that the Yugoslav delegation at the talks in Zagreb would be headed by its chairman Maksim Korac.

f YU

rized by the improve-

ment of the overall situation, stabilization of the peace process, development of goodneighbourly relations, better

Development in the rey Zivadin Jovanovic an

linking and creating of conditions for speeding up the transition process. The two ministers un-

SERBIAN CHAMBER OF

Wednesday, February 4, 1998 7

FEDERAL FOREIGN MINISTER ZIVADIN JOVANOVIC RECEIVED

Upward Trend of Relations

derscored that FRY is

significantly contribu- -

ting to all these positive trends, through the afirmation of its open fore-

ion is characterized by the improvement of the overall situation: | Tony Lioyd :

ign policy in which good-neighbourly relations and equal relations in Europe have a priority. »''

Underscored was the

DELEGATION OF THE BRITISH BANK IN THE

COMMERCE

Interest in New Markets

Belgrade, - Within a visit banka bank, a delegation o

basic characteristics of Serbia's economic develop ment this year and priorities in the privatization pro-

cess.

Director David Tate said Merchant LB was an investment bank, a member of the German banking group West LB, and that it had been engaged on project on privatization, additional capitalization, and foreign

to Bel f the

Nix

investments in countries in transition since 1990.

Tate said the London bank was especially interested in so-called new markets, so that it realized several dozen projects since 1990 in Hungary, the Czech Repu-

blic, Poland, Baltic-republics and Slovenia.

He said the objective of his visit to the Beobanka bank was to consider possibilities of cooperation in the

upcoming process of privatization in Serbia. i The London officials were informed about the basic

objectives of the economic policy of our country 'ih 1998 by Secretary Branislava Zunjic of the Service

for the Economic System, and Secretary Nikola Rastivojevic of the Service for Development, Research

and Restructurin presented

possibilities for privatiza-

tion and ownership transformation of companies in

Serbia.

ment said.

SVETOLIK KOSTADINO-

ade and the Beoest Merchant LB Bank of London on Monday conferred with representatives of the Serbian Chambre of Commerce on the

need for the full norma- 5 lization of relations and § equal cooperation bet- § ween FRY and EU, and § that Great Britain, as aj

4

FRY’s traditional and major partner and the | EU chairman, can contribute to this, the state- |

VIC SERBIAN MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Government Backs the Projects

Belgrade, - Transportation and communications development projects will continue to be

oe financed this year

y Serbia’s Development Fund, Serbian Minister of Transportation and Communications Svetolik Kostadinovic has told Tanjug.

Minister Kostadinovic said that work would continue on the trans- Yugoslav highway, for which funds „would be secured from tolls, a tax included in the prices of oil derivatives, and possibly also through the participation of foreign capital in the form of concessions.

Kostadinovic specified that not all of the 160 million German marks

rovided by the Deve-

| VLATKOVIC ON EXCHANGE RATE GROWTH

i Due to

| VISITED POZAREVAC

INeed for Renewing

which it was accepted by the Government, members of the Council of Ministers are withdrawing their

Bijeljina - The president of Republika Srpska (RS) Government in former convocation Gojko Klicko-

opment Fund for the reconstruction of roads in

vic handed over in Bijeljina the duty to the present RS Premier Mi-

signature on concord with the Memorandum’. Sarajevo - British Minister for

Serbia in 1997 had been spent and that the remaining resources would

Expected | Inflation

Belgrade, - Yugoslav National Bank Governor Dusan Vlatkovic discussed Monday | with members of the board of | directors of the Yugoslav = Banksé Association the imple* mentation of economic’ and # monetary Paley and of measures aimed at maintaining the : stability of prices and of the ex| change rate, the National Bank | said in a statement.

i The measures are almed at | ensuring full control of the i amount of money in circulation = and its reduction to the planned

lorad Dodik, is said in a statement from the Cabinet of Mr. Dodik forwarded to SRNA. In the text is added that Dodik and Klickovic expressed readiness for realisation of all investment and projects for pro-

ress and development of RS, and etier life of her citizens.

Sarajevo - The Minister of Civilian Affairs and Communications in the B&H Council of Ministers Spasoje Albijanic forwarded a letter to the High Representative Carlos Westendorp in which he is informing him that members of the Codol from RS were cancelling signature from the Memorandum on Rule Book and instructions for licence plates for motor vehicles in B&H. Albijanic is reminding that the Memorandum has been accepted at the Session of the Council of

International Development Claire Short will offer to the Premier of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik a financial aide for his policy - conveys this morning the British radio BBC in broadcast in Serbian language. Mrs. Short is going to be the first member of an foreign Government to meet Mr. Dodik after he had took an oath before the National Assembly on Saturday. Banjaluka - Deputy High International Representative Hans Schumacher emphasised in Banjaluka that ‘joint licence plates will be available to all citizens starting on February 15; at the beginning the plates will cost 15 DM and after that 30 DM. From April 30 no vehicle can cross the border crossing

be used this year.

He said that work would continue on a project for the building of a higway between Belgrade and the southern | Adriatic and that con-

' struction work would begin on a section of the highway as early as this year.

Minister Kostadinovic set out that the Development Fund had provided last year also 100 million German marks for the modernization of railways and that, here again, some of

\Cooperation

first established ing 1954. between Chinese | partners and Pozarevac’s Morava factory o agricultural machinery. Morava | Manager| Dragoljub Blagojevic | informed the Chinese | ambassador that the | factory had signed two | preliminary contracts for exports to China in 1998. and that in wished to start a joint ven- | ture and build a similar factory in China. General ‘Manager of

| Pozarevac, -– Chine| se Ambassador to the | Federal Republic of | Yugoslavia Zhu An| kang on Monday visi| ted Pozarevac, east. of | Belgrade, and with | Mayor Dusan Antic , Considered the possibi| lity of China resuming | cooperation with Pozarevac firms. :

Mayor Antic said , that the Pozarevac in| dustry could greatly | help enrich YugoslavChinese relations, espelally economic.

ft,

New measures are aimed at ensu- * ring full control of the amount of &

Ambassador Zhu the Pozarevac Bambi tht ceed on January: 27 dn: fhat without united pa. said Schu- | Jevel with in the first quarter of money in circulation: Dusan Vlat- the resources had been Oncurred, stressing confectionery factory Jabresentanives of the entites have marlin Ke ODt Pett Dias | this year. This should be achie- evic | left over and would be showing the J Pia: ved through enforcing the pay- monetary operations but of ex- § used this year.

accepted, the document at working Meetings in the Office of High Representative (OHR). “Beginning of this fact,.the Council of Ministers

/ ae Yugoslav President announced that in a few days a new flag would be ready as well as the

joint currency and passport, which

Miroslav Miletic, too, spoke about starting a joint venture and a con-

| ment of outstanding debts, | stricter finacial discipline and a new system of maintaining the

pected rise in the inflation rate, § the participants said. i The meeting also focused on |

The Minister said that the railways were likel to get a credit of 50 mil:

ad given a new impact j factory in : are now in preparation. ‘The new | ‘ 0 historically good re- fectionery ” Be RHE iy tne onviies had Government and its president will | Solvency of commercial banks, a program of strengthening fo- | ion Swiss francs from ations between Yugo- China. dum, thinking tha contribute to that, which will bring it was noted during the mee- reign exchange reserves and on } EUROFIMA, the Euro-

a new model of foreign ex- § change market operations, } which should enable banks to | sell foreign exchange in additi- § on to purchasing. |

The National’ Bank will in- © form the public this week of the § key measures aimed at imple- § menting the economic and mo- = netary policy. |

_- ting. i The creation ofa new system | of payments operations will _ enable the commercial banks to effect payments through a sin| gle account and avoid insolvency. The growth of the exchange = rate at the black market in Ja= nuary this year is not a result of

accepted to transfer part of their authorities related to the licence plates on the Ministry of Civilian Affairs and Communications, and it is about keeping a central file on distribution of the licence plates in entities’- is said in the letter. It is also said in the letter: ‘But, since representatives of the RS Government stated that they have not signed the Memorandum, althoug

they had accepted it in OHR, after

Ambassador Zhu to- § ured the facilities of the . Bambi Holding Com- | pany, and the Morava | factory of agricultural ,

Ty: • ; i as goca ipaica | on the visit by Yugoslav . Ambassador to China . Slobodan Unkovic J

pean. company for the financing of stock.

this country to the economic recovery’, added Schumacher. The vicepresident of the RS Government Ostoja Kremenovic said that ‘joint licence plates are the first step which means implementation of Dayton Agreement from RS side as a free democratic Republic due to carry out the internation] programmes as well as to conduct its own regulations.’

rolling

hu especially stres| Sed a need for a better | presentation of the po, lential of Pozarevac and he local industry on the Inese market.

He further stressed a heed for renewing coo, peration, which was

| -RADIO YUGOSLAVIA