Alessio Vinci: Yugoslavia emerges from cocoon of isolation

Alessio Vinci

Belgrade Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci reports on Yugoslavia's acceptance back into the International Monetary Fund, eight years after being kicked out of the IMF.

Q: How big of a boost for Yugoslavia is this news with the IMF?

VINCI: Certainly, it is another boost in that it shows that Yugoslavia is continuing its path toward ending years of isolation -- not just sanctions, but the country is also being welcomed back into major international organizations.

Of course, with the IMF and the World Bank being two of the biggest lenders of money that exist in the world, Yugoslavia is looking forward to future cooperation with those two institutions. Obviously, Yugoslavia has a tremendous debt to those two institutions.

With the help of the international community and millions and billions of dollars promised to Yugoslavia from many European countries and the United States, Yugoslavia hopes to reschedule some of those debts and begin a new era of cooperation.

Q: What are the main industries that need to bolstered in Yugoslavia?

VINCI: Yugoslavia needs everything basically, from humanitarian aid to gas and electricity supplies to modernize its industry. The economy is in shambles. Every aspect of society here needs to be refurbished after 13 years of rule by Slobodan Milosevic.

Again, the international community, especially the European Union countries, have already pledged several millions and billions of dollars in economic aid. However, the Yugoslav officials are very adamant in saying they don't want Yugoslavia to be an aid-dependent country. They want international investments, but before they can do that, they need to create the proper conditions for those investments to come here and be protected.

So, Yugoslavia needs to create a rule of law and to create a system that is receptive to those international investments. They also need to make sure the right conditions exist, not only legally, but also in terms of taxation and in terms of living conditions.

Certainly, the fact that Yugoslavia is now part of the international community makes all of this much easier.

Q: Has the new president rejuvenated the country and boosted morale among its citizens?

VINCI: The biggest shock Yugoslavia has gone through in the last two months since the toppling of former President Milosevic is that it has gone through a tremendous morale boost.

This country was isolated over the last 13 years. It had gone through four wars and economic sanctions. What people have seen here in the last two months is a flourish of diplomatic activities. Presidents and prime ministers from dozens of countries have visited Yugoslavia and Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has traveled to many world capitals.

People really see that real changes are taking place in Yugoslavia. So far, those changes have been promises. Now, we need to see how these investments and money will translate into real opportunities for those who live here. This is something that will be a job for the new Serbian parliament.

There are new parliamentary elections on Saturday in Serbia, which is the main republic of Yugoslavia. These elections will also likely mean that the reformers will be able to, once and for all, sweep away the remnants of the Milosevic regime.

The reformists are expected to win by a landslide. Therefore, people can expect changes within a matter of months. The first changes will likely be to reform institutions -- the police and the judiciary in order to put the necessary conditions for investment in place.

Once those reforms have been introduced, then this country will be ready to accept international investments.

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