"We don't know how many people leave the country, between 6,500 and 35,000 to 40,000 a year."

Photo: flickr/Nicolas Raymond, Profimedia

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Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Zoran Djordjevic said today that the issue of migrations is of public interest to Serbia, adding that a coordination body has been formed to propose to the Serbian government what a strategy to stop economic migration should look like.

Speaking at the Kopaonik Business Forum, he said that there are no exact numbers to show how many people ar leaving the country, but that they range between 6,500 and 35,000 to 40,000 a year.

"I think the best answer will be given by the population census next year, considering that the last one was in 2011," said Djordjevic, adding that Serbia "has between 40,000 and 45,000 fewer people annually, and that during 2018, 122,193 people changed their permanent residence.

He stated that the goal of the strategy is to stop the trend of people leaving and to establish better communication with the diaspora. He recalled that the main task is for salaries in Serbia to be 900 and pensions 440 euros by 2025.

Djordjevic also pointed out the importance of regional integration and the "Little Schengen" initiative, which is projected to give the country a growth of 0.5 to 0.7 percent. He added that investments will be made in health, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, while funds will also be allocated for our citizens living in Kosovo and Metohija.

(Telegraf Biznis/Tanjug)