The First International Cluster Conference was held in Belgrade

Connectivity and companies networking in the region are very important especially during the world economic crisis, was assessed at the conference "Clusters - Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Development" which was held on 10th March in Belgrade.

The Conference was opened by the Head of EC Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, Mr Josep Lloveras, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade Mr Hakon Blankenborg and Vesna Arsic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development.

Vesna Arsic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development emphasized the importance of clusters for regional development. She pointed out the importance of cluster development policies, not only for Serbia and the countries of the region but also for the EU, which provides constant institutional support to cluster development and disburses significant funds for their promotion. According to her, the conference will contribute to increase knowledge about the importance of enterprise networking and cluster development at national and regional level.

Zozep Ljoveras, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in the Republic of Serbia pointed out the importance of clusters, which, especially in the time of spreading of economic crisis, help strengthening companies in a region by creating links between them and enable them to appear in foreign markets. Bearing in mind that clusters in Serbia are still at a vulnerable stage of development, it is necessary to provide continuous support in order for them to reach a stage of sustainability and help strengthen the competitiveness of Serbian economy.

Ljoveras pointed out that last year the European Union (EU) supported this program and that will continou with the support in this year. This is why EU has disbursed additional MEUR 6,5 within IPA for support to the project which will contribute to SME competitiveness and cluster development, said Lloveras at the opening of the Conference.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade Mr Hakon Blankenborg, whose government financially supported the development of clusters in Serbia in 2007, expressed his hope that Serbian Government will continue to cooperate with the Kingdom of Norway in this field in the future. Norwegian Government participates in such a project, he pointed out, bearing in mind the importance of exchange of knowledge because, "if we have cluster growth and innovations in one country, we will have them in the other one as well".

The conference hosted more than 200 representatives from the country and abroad, and for them the conference was a good opportunity to compare the cluster development policies in different countries, to hear the advice and recommendations of the European Commission in this area and to present the current policies for the cluster development in the Republic of Serbia.

Participants had the opportunity to hear the experiences and recommendations for managing cluster initiatives by the best European and worldwide cluster managers.

Ministry of Economy and Regional Development of the Republic of Serbia through the "Cluster Development Support Programme" supported 20 clusters, among which are Automotive Cluster of Serbia, cluster BIPOM - Balkan and black Sea Industry of Agricultural Machinery and the Serbian Software Cluster.