Serbia, Romania hold business forum in Belgrade

BELGRADE - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) hosted on Thursday in Belgrade a Serbia-Romania business forum attended by 43 Serbian and 31 Romanian companies.

PKS representative Mihailo Vesovic said Serbia had welcomed a Romanian business delegation for the first time in a decade.

"A very important message to all businesspeople in Serbia, as well as to all political decision-makers, is that Romania is one of our most important European partners and one of the largest economies we share a border with, and one that is very significant strategically, due to the corridor, the link we have with it via the Danube, the link with the Black Sea and the Port of Constanta," Vesovic said.

He added that the focus after the forum would be on ways to contribute to an already enviably high level of trade cooperation.

"Our bilateral trade volume last year was 2.5 bln euros. We need to see how we can use the advantages of the Danube and the Port of Constanta, as well as what is the most important in economic relations besides logistics and transport - food security and energy security, two universal issues for the whole world," Vesovic said, noting that Romania was a major European producer of grains, maize and sunflower seeds.

"We are targeting the same audience of potential investors and it is very important that investors coming to both Serbia and Romania seek local suppliers on both sides. We already have German companies that are on both sides and need quick movement of people and capital," he said.

Infrastructure, including border crossings, must be improved and developed to enable quicker transport, he said.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania President Mihai Daraban said Serbia was a very significant partner to his country and that Serbian companies were important when it comes to the Port of Constanta.

He explained that the most modern port terminal in Constanta had been built by a Serbian company in 2005 or 2006.

He also said that, unfortunately, only three countries were interested in transport on the Danube - Austria, Serbia and Romania - while Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary were not.

Daraban said Romania had attracted 107 bln euros worth of FDI in 2022, compared to 34 bln in 2007, when it joined the EU.

"Serbia can be a good partner to us," Daraban said, noting that the two economies needed to work together to break into markets outside the EU.

On their own, they do not have the business capacity to conquer markets such as North America or South America, he said.

If our companies from the same sectors join forces, we might succeed in doing that, Daraban said.