Brnabic: FTA with UAE to be signed within three months

DUBAI - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Monday a Serbia-UAE FTA was expected to be signed within three months and that the Serbian government would submit to the UAE its comments on a draft of the agreement during the day.

In a statement to Tanjug, Brnabic said the signing of a FTA would help boost bilateral economic cooperation, which she noted was definitely below the potential.

"The goods trade is quite modest and is at approximately 80 mln euros, but the services trade is two and a half times the amount," said Brnabic, who is set to conclude a two-day visit to the UAE with meetings with the country's senior officials.

Earlier in the day, she met with Minister for Artificial Intelligence Omar Al Olama.

She is due to meet with the UAE's minister for development and future and the head of its state services.

On Sunday, Brnabic spoke with Interpol President Maj Gen Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi and the UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed Al Gergawi.

She said the meetings had been aimed at reviewing the implementation of existing bilateral agreements and potential further steps in development of Serbia-UAE relations.

A Serbian delegation accompanying Brnabic also includes Minister of Telecommunications and Information Mihailo Jovanovic, who said Serbia and its partners in the UAE were working on digitalisation and development of AI and bioinformatics.

He said Serbia was working on amendments to the Foreigners Act to facilitate the entry of foreigners to Serbia by enabling them to obtain a Serbian visa or residence permit through the local eGovernment internet portal in a matter of hours.