US Investors Respond Positively to Serbia’s BIO4 Campus and AI Vision Presented at UN Mission in New York
07/02/2024
Photo: Zoran Petrović / NITRA
The Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia announced that a presentation on the BIO4 Campus project and artificial intelligence opportunities in Serbia was held for representatives of American investment companies at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the United Nations in New York.
Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation Jelena Begović, together with Nenad Paunović, Director of the IT and Entrepreneurship Team in the Cabinet of the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, presented Serbia's largest scientific project, an investment worth €450 million.
Representatives of American investment companies, who showed interest in the Serbian project, responded very positively to Serbia’s efforts to follow global trends in science by building a scientific hub in Belgrade.
Begović highlighted that the Serbian delegation and members of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, currently visiting the United States, gathered potential investors and members of the Serbian diaspora at the first event organized at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the UN in New York.
“We presented how Serbia envisions its future, its potentials, and opportunities,” said the minister, adding that the U.S. represents one of the most advanced ecosystems in higher education, innovation, technological development, and science. “That is why it is crucial to establish cooperation with their best companies and universities,” she emphasized.
Nenad Paunović, advisor in the Prime Minister's Cabinet, stated that the BIO4 Campus is both a scientific and an economic project, and the U.S. has the most developed economy in this sector.
Paunović pointed out that some of the largest companies, such as Pfizer and Ginkgo Bioworks, with which the BIO4 Campus already has memorandums of understanding, are based in the U.S. He added that meetings will be held with these companies to expand cooperation and deepen relationships to work on joint projects with Serbian scientific institutes and the BIO4 Campus.
“We aim for collaboration between science and science, science and industry, and between our economy and theirs. The East Coast of the United States is probably the best partner in the world for this, as it is where the most significant technological advancements and the most serious economy are located,” Paunović said.
After the presentation on the BIO4 Campus, Stefan Badža, an advisor in the Prime Minister's Cabinet, spoke about the opportunities in artificial intelligence in Serbia.
Badža noted that the U.S. is one of the global leaders in artificial intelligence and the largest export market for Serbian IT products. The presentation aims to attract more investors and companies operating in Serbia to expand their teams in AI development.
“It is essential to connect with them as this is where the most advanced products are developed. The latest technologies, like ChatGPT, were first launched from the U.S., so it’s important to have intensive communication with them to gain access to these technologies as soon as possible,” he explained.
Badža also highlighted the importance of the Serbian diaspora in the U.S., many of whom work in the world’s largest IT and tech companies. “Connecting with them to showcase what is being done in Serbia is crucial, and we hope that some will choose to return and develop their products from Serbia,” he concluded.
