Last year we lost a town the size of Kikinda: Vucic at the 3rd Demographic Summit in Budapest

President Vucic will also visit the Serb kindergarten, elementary and high school, and the Nikola Tesla Collegium, where he will talk with students

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic continued his two-day visit to Budapest by attending the 3rd Demographic Summit, during which he addressed the conference's participants. The summit's topics include stopping the negative demographic trends, boosting birth rates and stopping the departure of the young working population from Serbia, Hungary and other European countries.

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At the beginning of his address President Vucic greeted host Viktor Orban and thanked him for his welcome.

"I came here not to lecture but to learn from all of you about a problem that we face every day. Prime Minister Orban points the way by bringing us all together, precisely because demographic problems are what troubles us the most today," said Vucic, and then mentioned a number as an example of low birth rates and demographic losses.

"Last year, Serbia lost a town the size of Kikinda, which is comparable to your Szeged. Unfortunately, Serbs are especially known for their low population growth. No generation born after the Second World War had higher birth rates than the simply replacement-level fertility," said the President of Serbia.

"I can tell you something that is happening in Serbia. In the richest part fertility level is the lowest, while in the poorest part it is the highest," said Vucic in his address.

The president also said that activity in this field is extremely uncertain because whatever incentive measures are introduced, one cannot be sure they will bring results.

Vucic also pointed out that the Serbian budget has a surplus and that the unemployment rate has been reduced, which should help with the demographic problem that he spoke about earlier, as prerequisites for someone to decide to start a family.

The gathering began with the blessing of Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Esztergom, as well as with addresses by several representatives of Christian and Jewish communities who spoke about the importance of increasing birth rates.

The attendees will be also be addressed by prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia Andrei Babis and Peter Pellegrini, former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, and will be greeted by the host of the event, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

President Vucic will also visit the Serb kindergarten, elementary and high school, and the Nikola Tesla Collegium, where he will talk with students.

Yesterday, Vucic spoke separately with Orban, and attended a dinner the Hungarian prime minister hosted for him, Babis, and Pellegrini.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)