Cadez: We expect FTA with UAE to be signed by end-year

ABU DHABI - Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Serbia (PKS) Director Marko Cadez announced on Monday the signing of a Serbia-UAE FTA and a major business forum in Belgrade were due by end-year.

After meeting with UAE Minister for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Abu Dhabi, Cadez said a second round of talks on the FTA would be held by the end of October, the PKS said in a statement.

"The agreement, which is being prepared by the two governments, will be the framework, and it will be up to businesspeople to fill it with new deals," Cadez said, adding that Al Zeyoudi would be heading the largest-ever UAE business delegation to visit Serbia.

"In collaboration with the chambers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the UAE Investors Council, we are taking part in the hosting of the business forum with a view to lending additional dynamics and energy to Serbia's and the Western Balkans' economic relations with the UAE," Cadez said.

Earlier in the day, Cadez met with UAE International Investors Council Secretary-General Jamal Bin Saif Al Jarwan to discuss opportunities for investing in Serbia and the region, especially in the IT sector, innovation and innovative health care.

Cadez presented the BioSense Institute project and the BIO4 Campus, which he said was one of the most interesting projects in the biotech sector.