13.05.2021.
President Vučić visits vaccination point: Thank you to Serbian Armed Forces for taking their task seriously
The President of Serbia and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, visited today the vaccination point in the "Dedinje" barracks, where about 200 members serving in the Belgrade garrison and members of their families were vaccinated today. President Vučić was welcomed in front of an honour guard by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, and the Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, with whom he visited the triage and vaccination stations. The Minister of Health, Zlatibor Lončar, also visited the vaccination point.
During the visit, the President took the opportunity to talk to members of the armed forces and members of their families who decided to get vaccinated today, commending their decision and pointing out the importance of immunization as the only efficient measure to fight the COVID-19 epidemic. According to President Vučić, the number of vaccinated people is significantly rising on a daily basis. Compared to last week, when about 8,900 people received the vaccine daily, that number exceeds 23,000 now.– We expect that the vaccination turnout will be much higher in the armed forces and the Ministry of the Interior. I believe that in this way, and with each of these vaccines, lives of the vaccinated and others are saved, and that is why I thank them for organizing vaccination in this way - said President Vučić.
– I thank the Serbian Armed Forces for taking their task seriously. I also thank Minister Stefanović and General Mojsilović for making sure that the vaccination process is well organized and that our country is serious and well ordered in this respect, and we can be proud of that - President Vučić emphasized.
According to President Vučić, in the last six days, since it was announced that all the people who receive at least one dose of the vaccine by 31 May, will receive financial assistance, the number of vaccinated people has tripled compared to previous weeks.
– I am happy that more than 20,000 people are vaccinated daily. I think that is important, because it means that each day, one more town is vaccinated - President Vučić points out, adding that in this way this disease will be stopped.
The President of the Republic points out that vaccines have been provided, and that a large number of vaccines have been donated to the region.
– People in Serbia deserve that their fellow citizens behave responsibly. You are not only protecting yourself, you are protecting your loved ones, your friends and everyone else. We cannot act selfishly and say "I survived this disease two or three months ago and I don't care what happens to everyone else" - Vučić emphasized.
The President notes that he has always spoken of vaccination as a way to set the country in motion and improve economy. He presented to the public the IMF’s latest adjusted projections announced last night, projecting our country’s GDP at six percent in 2021.– You know that they said that GDP would be five percent, and then the European Commission said that Serbia’s predicted GDP growth would be 5.3 percent this year. The IMF changed that to six percent last night, the percentage that Serbia had previously projected. I was the only one to express belief that Serbia would have growth of seven percent, which would be miraculous after a recession of only 0.9 percent last year, which was, along with Lithuania, the best result in Europe - said President Vučić.
According to him, this shows that Serbia is growing and working excellently and that our economy is making great progress.
– And in order for our country to prosper even more, we need vaccination. The IMF also estimates that the growth in 2022 will be significantly higher, it will rise from 3.8 to 4.5 percent - President Vučić emphasized.
He also points out that the projected deficit has been reduced, despite all the things we buy - from huge investments in railways and roads, to ongoing projects that show how much is being done and built in Serbia, and that is what brings growth.– The growth I am talking about brings higher salaries and pensions. I cannot make an official announcement, but we would certainly have a significant increase in salaries and pensions if this trend continued or if our growth rate improved more - said the President.
He once again called on everyone to get vaccinated, so that we could start treating other non-Covid patients as well, and so that Covid hospitals would be turned back into ordinary hospitals.
The President of the Republic pointed out that he was proud of the results, explaining that we would have an average salary of more than 600 euros by 1 January.
He underlines that what is especially important in the IMF report is that it says that this year, despite huge investment and the most sizeable investment in the Serbian Armed Forces so far, Serbia's public debt will not exceed 60.3 percent and that it will start to decrease.
According to him, we have managed to live through the most difficult times, to raise consumption and with the help of direct investment and increased exports we have managed to ensure Serbia’s growth.
– Congratulations to the people in Serbia. I just ask them to get vaccinated, not to listen to nonsense about the dust being thrown at them from helicopters, about chips and other absurdities, because they make no sense, they have nothing to do with reality - the President emphasized, adding that the state would try to reach a growth rate of seven percent and that each percent of growth increases salaries and pensions.According to President Vučić, only eight years ago, the total value of everything we produced, the total gross domestic product in this country was 33-34 billion euros, and by the end of this year it will amount to over 50 billion, which means that Serbia’s overall economy has increased by 50 percent in total.
– Imagine an average salary of over 770-780 euros in Belgrade in less than a year, and over 600 euros in Serbia, and we had 329 euros just a year ago. I am talking about salaries in euros, and the exchange rate of the dinar against the euro has not changed for eight years, which is also the first time in history - concluded President Vučić, once again congratulating the citizens of Serbia on that.
Responding to reporters’ questions, President Vučić said that he had been informed that one of the great powers would soon demand the withdrawal of KFOR and UNMIK from Kosovo and Metohija, estimating that it would be a great catastrophe for everyone. He also said that he would try to talk about it to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, with whom he should meet in Brussels next Monday, and ask him to use his influence in the Western alliance to prevent that from happening.
When asked about Albin Kurti’s announcements about the strengthening of the Kosovo Army, President Vučić pointed out that the annual investment that Pristina announced was far below Serbia’s investment in our armed forces.
– As for the Pristina army, they announced that as of next year, they would allocate one hundred million euros annually for their Ministry of Defence and the army. When you add up all our investments, they amount to two billion - said the President, adding that we were not endangered by it in any way, and that our job was to keep peace and stability and to have the strongest armed forces possible.
