One would hardly know it on a September Saturday evening in Belgrade, when an Indian summer brings temperatures of nearly 40 degrees celsius, sun-kissed locals party on floating bars in the Sava River and energetic turbo-folk music fills the balmy air, but Serbia is a country that has had little reason to revel in recent times. A nasty war in the 1990s left the country battered and its international image tattered. Since then, the western Balkan republic - the largest country in the region and one of the most important economically - has been suffering a number of ills, ranging from geopolitical disputes, domestic political discord and torrential floods to fiscal imbalances and anaemic economic growth. More recently, Serbia has found itself a crossing-route for the huge tide of migrants fleeing war-torn Syria for western Europe, although the country has won plaudits for its humane treatment of these temporary visitors when compared with other nearby countries. Huge challenges remain, including a double-digit unemployment rate, but there are signs that Serbia might be turning a corner at last.
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