SBRA SIGNS DONATION PROTOCOL WITH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY KOICA FOR THE “IMPROVEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITY OF SERBIAN BUSINESS REGISTERS AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA”
On 14 February 2008, the Serbian Business Registers Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a Donation Protocol for the “Improvement of Administrative Capability of the Serbian Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia”.
The Protocol was signed at SBRA’s office by Mr. Zvonko Obradović, SBRA Director and Mr. Kong Moo Heon, Leader of KOICA’s Implementation Survey Team.
The signing took place in the presence of Her Excellency Kim Yung Hi, Ambassador of South Korea, the State Secretary for Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Jasna Matić, and the Advisor to the Department for Programming and Management of EU Funds and Development Assistance of the Ministry of Finance Igor Perić.
The Ambassador of South Korea dr. Kim Yung Hi expressed her conviction that successful implementation of the project will speed up and facilitate, as well as increase the transparency and efficiency of doing business in Serbia, to the benefit of not only domestic companies but also foreign investors, and that the project will contribute to a better living standard of Serbia’s citizens and forging closer ties between the people of Serbia and Korea.
Dr. Yung Hi emphasized that the Korean Government had made an exception with respect to the amount of the donation, as the standard amount approved per project does not usually exceed USD 2 million, whereas the funding approved in this case amounts to USD 3.2 million.
State Secretary for Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development of the Government of Serbia, Ms. Jasna Matić, emphasized that upgrading SBRA’s operations would result in an improved business environment in Serbia and increased efficiency of the domestic economy, which in turn would contribute to increasing the volume of foreign investments.
The donation, consisting of equipment and software, will be implemented over a period of two years, from 2008 to 2009.
The donation is intended for upgrading the existing system, through the introduction of integrated registers, e-archives and the development of an information hub for internal and external users, (state institutions and interested users).
The funds will be allocated also for the establishment of a One-Stop-Shop system, aiming to provide services which will be integrated in one office, in the Serbian Business Registers Agency. With the introduction of a One-Stop-Shop system, the foundations will have been laid for the development of communications and the implementation of electronic procedures between the various state agencies.
The implementation of the project will contribute to upgrading cooperation between the two countries in the field of information and communications technologies (ICT), through the transfer of know how held by the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Serbia in the field of e-governance.