(ANSA) - BELGRADE - In Serbia foreign investment was 2.6 billion euros last year, said President Aleksandar Vucic, underlining that this figure is higher than investments in all the other countries put together, including Croatia.

During a live interview on Pink TV, Vucic presented a very positive balance of Serbia's economy, with a GDP growth of over 3.5%, the unemployment rate which dropped to 12-13% (25% a few years ago) and the public debt that is expected to fall to 52% of GDP by the end of the year, one of the lowest rates in Europe. ''All that has not fallen from the sky, but is the result of hard work, to ensure investors are aware of the advantages they can find in Serbia'', said the president, who at the same time denounced a lack of local labor force in the country. In this regard, Vucic added that he saw workers who do not speak Serbian well in many large construction sites. Many, he said, are ethnic Albanian citizens from Macedonia. ''Our country is in decline'', said Vucic, who recently complained about a gradual decrease in the birth rate in Serbia. (ANSA).