The 26th Kopaonik Business Forum was held from March 3rd to March 6th, 2019, at the Grand Hotel Congress Center on Kopaonik, its theme being “Serbia Ten Years after the Great Recession: the Imperative of the Robust Growth”. This year’s Forum included 26 panels, 3 plenary sessions and 6 special events, dedicated to current economic, political and social topics in Serbia, ten years after the Great Recession. In addition to central topics focused on macroeconomic stability, sustainable and strong growth, accelerated structural reforms and the dangers of a potential new global crisis, emphasis was placed on the importance of digitalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution for the development of economy and society, the need for advancement of science and new education models, and investment in innovations and start-ups.
Ms. Ana Brnabić, Serbian Prime Minister, participated in the Forum, as well as numerous ministers from the Serbian Government, most important Serbian businessmen from the banking, insurance, ICT, trade, tourism, energy, agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors, representatives of public enterprises, local self-governments and international financial institutions, ambassadors, businessmen from the region, representatives of the Fiscal Council, domestic and foreign economic theoreticians. The special guest of this year’s Forum was the President of the World Academy of Arts and Science, Mr. Garry Jacobs, while Mr. Christian Danielsson, Director-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, spoke at the Forum for the first time as a special guest.
The Forum was organized in partnership with Mastercard, the company which will also be the Forum’s partner in the following two years, which provides the organizers with additional stability in raising the quality of this event. As in previous years, the patron of the Forum was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia. The most important conclusions and recommendations of the four-day constructive discussion and work will be summarized in the document entitled “Kopaonik Consensus” and sent to relevant institutions and companies. That will be our contribution to designing plausible and efficient policies with the aim of continuing the economic transition of Serbia in a swifter and high-quality manner.
Kopaonik Business Forum gathers renowned experts and eminent names on the domestic and regional economic and political scene. In the past 26 years, the main topics reflected the moment in which the Forum was organized, having as a mutual component persistent insisting on a rapid and efficient economic transition, i.e., the necessity of efficient reform of the public sector. Our goal is to build a platform for a reasoned and constructive discussion and critical analysis of what was done, as well as for a conceptual definition of sustainable economic policy. By organizing this year’s Forum, with over 160 keynote speakers and panelists, 1,300 participants, 130 accredited journalists from the country and abroad, we achieved our goal and confirmed once again that Kopaonik Business Forum is the most important event of this kind organized in Serbia. Just as the World Economic Forum in Davos is a reality check of its own kind at a global level, Kopaonik Business Forum is a place where the results of our country’s eco
nomic policy are summarized between the two Forums. Over the past years the Forum has acquired a strong regional dimension.
The Forum has exceptionally echoed in the public. In addition to the statistical increase in the number of announcements in domestic and regional media, the reports on this year’s Forum recorded a significant increase of positive publicity. The trend of increase in the number of reports from the economic aspect, in relation to the political topics, was retained. A survey conducted among the Forum participants confirmed its high quality and reputation among expert public.
More information at
https://www.kopaonikbusinessforum.rs
