Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac Sign MoU with USAID

November 13, 2008

USAID Mission Director Michael Harvey, Mayor of Medvedja Slobodan Draskovic, Mayor of Bujanovac Shaip Kamberi and Director of the Coordination Body Nenad Djurdjevic at the signing ceremony

On Thursday, November 13, 2008, USAID Mission Director Michael Harvey will visit the Municipality of Bujanovac and together with the Director of the Coordination Body Nenad Djurdjevic and Mayors of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac sign a Memorandum of Understanding on joint cooperation in Local Economic Development. On the same occasion, the official opening of the new Local Economic Development (LED) Office in Bujanovac, established with the support of USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity program, will also take place.

The goal of this cooperation is to support the three municipalities in defining their long-term strategic priorities so they can become economically advanced and self sustainable. The role of the USAID program in this area will be to help build the capacity of these municipalities to strategically identify capital investment priorities and prepare projects which will increase the quality of life of their citizens. The Coordination Body will work to secure funding for specific projects from other Government ministries and agencies.

In September 2008, municipalities of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac joined USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity Program to receive full assistance in the areas of LED, marketing and promotion, municipal capacity building, strategic development, and targeted technical and financial assistance. USAID will work with Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac to help create a more business-friendly climate and build on the strong entrepreneurial spirit of citizens in the three municipalities.

The signing of this MoU serves to once again demonstrate the strong commitment and will of the American people to contribute to the economic and social development of Serbia.

For more information about this event, please contact Natasa Ristic at 063 107 4941 or natasa_ristic@ui-serbia.org. For more information about USAID’s activities please visit http://serbia.usaid.gov.