LAUNCHING OF THE BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN ATHENS “GREECE, SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE”

The meeting at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and press conference was attended by H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander II, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Mr. Slobodan Milosavljevic, H.E. Minister of International Economic Relations Mr. Milan Parivodic, H.E. Minister of Economy Mr. Predrag Bubalo, Mrs. Alison Andrews and Mr. Alexandros Kostopulous

Belgrade, 28th December 2004. H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander II attended a meeting of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce to launch the announcement for the Business Conference “Greece, Serbia and Montenegro Partnership Initiative”. The conference will take place at the Athens Hilton in Athens 8, 9, 10h February 2005. Followed by a day trip 11 February from Athens to Belgrade and lunch in honour of the participants at The White Palace.

The patron of the conference is H.R.H. Princess Katherine. Beside the Crown Prince, the Managing Director of the company “Foresight” of Athens Mr. Alexander Kostopoulos and the daughter of H.R.H. Princess Katherine Mrs. Alison Andrews attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Mr. Slobodan Milosavljevic, with his closest associates prepared a short reception in honour of the Crown Prince and guests.

The meeting started with opening remarks by the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Mr. Slobodan Milosavljevi who expressed his gratitude to His Royal Highness for the great effort put into establishing economic relations of our country and Greece, and the wish for our country to be presented in the best possible way to foreign investors.

The Crown Prince’s responded by giving his compliments to the organization of such an important conference, whose initiator is Mrs. Alison Andrews the daughter of H.R.H. Princess Katherine.

“It is very important that we work together and unite for the good of our country in creating new jobs. The benefactors will be our people and I stress all our people regardless of their region, political inclination or ethnic origin. People make a country and people need jobs. The contacts and meetings that are made today and in Athens will become a reality in jobs for the future so we have to start now. We owe it to the people to create a better future and jobs. We must work with our Greek friends and foreign friends and that includes the Greek government and companies. We must work with our government, agencies and our companies. We must work with everyone and we must not have any borders. We are all on the same side that side is for jobs and the future.

The organizer of the conference is Lifeline and that is my wife’s humanitarian organization known here as Fondacija Princeze Katarine. Participation in the conference will also benefit the humanitarian situation in our country. Therefore, we are all doing a good deed by helping create jobs and providing humanitarian aid.”- emphasized the Crown Prince in his speech.

Mr. Alexandros Kostopolous introduced the technical details of the conference and pointed out that the basic goal for organizing such an important and big gathering is setting in motion a mechanism that would gather the businesspersons from our country and Greece, and the creation of the new image of Serbia. He added:

“For once in our lives and in the business world during the conference we will have a chance to make not only business contacts, but also to help those who need help the most, because the main organizer is the Humanitarian Organization “Lifeline”, under the patronage of H.R.H. Princess Katherine.

The daughter of H.R.H. Princess Katherine, Mrs. Alison Andrews explained to all present the program of the conference, which beside the working part, includes workshops and an expo.

“There is a great interest for products from Serbia, products are of a very good quality, and we should make use of this during the conference, and introduce the Greek people to the wide range of the products from Serbia”- emphasized Mrs. Alison Andrews.

Following the meeting representatives of the Ministries, Chambers and economists expressed their satisfaction with the symposium for our country and its representation abroad A the press conference followed. H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander II, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Slobodan Milosavljevic, H.E. Minister for International Economic Relations Mr. Milan Parivodic, H.E. Minister of Economy Mr. Predrag Bubalo, Mrs. Alison Andrews and Mr. Alexander Kostopoulos, answered many questions raised by the accredited representatives of the press.

The business conference “Greece, Serbia and Montenegro Partnership Initiative” attracted a lot of attention. And interest. The was a large attendance high officials of Serbia and Montenegro, representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and other organizations, World Bank, European Investment Bank, European Bank for reconstruction and development, EU, companies from Serbia and Montenegro. On 11 February there will be special day trip to Belgrade followed by lunch in honour of participants at The White Palace. After lunch there will be a round table discussion with the participation of international and local companies who will present the development of their business in Serbia and Montenegro.

It should be noted that the media sponsors of the conference are “The International Herald Tribune” and the Greek daily newspaper “Express”.