Serbian Deputy Primie Minister Aleksandar Vucic had laid out plans to go to the United Arab Emirates by next week to negotiate terms between EUR2 billion and EUR3 billion or USD2.7 billion or USD4 billion loan. This deal was determined as crucial to the country's financial stability.
Last week, Belgrade had instituted measures to lower the budget deficit estimated by the International Monetary Fund as above 7% of GDP with a debt forecast of about 65% of GDP by next year. In financing its debt for 2014 and 2015 while investing in infrastructure and industry, Serbia would need more debt financing, which includes a new Eurobond with loans from countries such as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Last Tuesday, Mladjan Dinkic, the head of the Serbian delegation for economic cooperation with the UAE and former finance minister. Dinkic would be traveling with Vucic to Abu Dhabi on October 26 to start discussions over the loan, which may be scheduled for release in 2014.
Dinckic, in an interview with reporters during a Belgrade business conference, said, "It's not small money, it would be virtually impossible to get it from anyone but the Emirates, but we will have to be patient and wait for everything to be agreed."
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