Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Vojvodina Assembly Speaker Istvan Pastor and Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Yossef Levy on Tuesday opened a new plant at the Precision Casting Foundry in Ada that will manufacture jet engine parts.
"I am certain that Serbia has a future that is better and happier than its present," Vucic said at the opening ceremony.
He said that Serbia needs 1,000 such production hubs, and particularly thanked the ambassador and the people of Israel, as well as Israeli companies.
Serbia is open to cooperation in other projects as well, Vucic said, thanking Israeli companies for their interest in the remaining non-privatised enterprises in Serbia.
Vucic said that the Ada plant is a major investment and that Serbia will help the Israeli partner accomplish all its plans.
The prime minister expressed hope that the plant's workforce will become bigger than the current 63 or the planned 100 employees, and that it will hire 200 people from the Ada area.
Pastor said that he believes in the potential of Serbia, Vojvodina and Ada, which he said will all see a better future.
Reflecting on the friendship and the ties between the two nations and countries, the Israeli ambassador said that the people, their education and commitment to work are the engine of joint development.
We believe in the spirit and the future of Serbia, Levy said, adding that the great partnership will continue because the Ada plant is an example of what can be done in the Serbian-Israeli partnership.
In 2003, Israel's Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd. bought the old Ada plant, which has since seen a tenfold boost in sales.
The company decided to build a completely new plant to manufacture jet engine parts for foreign markets - for companies such as Airbus and Bombardier, as well as for Falcon aircraft.
One hundred percent of the plant's output will be exported, in particular, to Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.
The two plants have over 60 employees, with 20 working at the new plant and 30 more to be hired next year.