Vojko Obersnel: Investments in the public sector are essentially always investments in the private sector

The second Lider invest of this year, a project initiated by the business weekly Lider in 2016, which rewards the best small, medium, and large manufacturing investments in Croatia, started in Rijeka at the University of Rijeka.

Lider invest was opened by the editor-in-chief of Lider and a member of the expert committee of Lider Invest, Miodrag Šajatović.

In this recession, during the worst month of lockdown, Croatian exports fell by 25 percent, but according to signals sent by exporters, exports will be a growth generator to end the recession as soon as possible. Signals are coming from the European Union and some large corporations that the lowest price achieved with suppliers from China is no longer the main factor. This is an opportunity for Croatian exporters to increase their capacities and take advantage of the opportunity that will soon arise, which is to carry out reindustrialization in Croatia, it could be read at the beginning of Lider invest in Rijeka.

Snježana Prijić Samaržija, the rector of the University of Rijeka, stated that the media must be socially responsible and that this project is a significant step forward and important for both citizens and the entrepreneurial and investment environment.

– I would say that the collaboration between business and the University is very important because innovation systems must operate synergistically. We still do not speak the same language. There is a will, but we need to develop a communication methodology to make that leap in synergy and connecting business and the University – said Rector Prijić Samaržija.

Vojko Obersnel, the mayor of Rijeka, stated in the introduction that all investments are equally important and that public sector investments are essentially always investments in the private sector.

– The University of Rijeka is also a well-thought-out investment, as is the clinical hospital center, and these are investments of hundreds of millions of kuna, but more important than the investment itself is what these institutions mean – said Obersnel, adding that there are a whole series of investments being realized in Rijeka, including manufacturing ones, such as the investment of Jadran galenski laboratorij, which has expanded its capacities and is already achieving significant profits in the European and global markets.

– There are investments, but slowness is a problem. Uncertainty in the correctness of land registries and the slowness in resolving these issues hold us back – said Obersnel.

In conclusion, he stated that shipbuilding in Rijeka is very important and that it is good that 3. Maj stabilizes and will produce, regardless of capacities, and that shipbuilding must be self-sustainable.

Petar Mamula, the deputy prefect of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, said that this region is one of the most developed in Croatia and that it is essential to provide entrepreneurs with all the prerequisites for development and growth.

– Here, 11 thousand entrepreneurs employ 62 thousand people, and all of them have not stopped and have not given up on investments, and all of this guarantees that our region will remain one of the three most developed in Croatia – emphasized Mamula, adding that they have already secured an additional 3.5 million kuna for small and micro entrepreneurs.

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