Momirovic: Serbia boosting economic cooperation with Turkey, Bulgaria

BELGRADE - Trade with Turkey is growing steadily and it reached 2.3 bln euros last year, making the country Serbia's eight-largest trade partner, Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said at a Balkan economic summit on Thursday.

That is additional motivation for Serbian companies to boost exports to the 80-million-consumer market, Momirovic said.

"At the same time, bilateral cooperation with Bulgaria has been growing continuously in the past ten years, reaching 1.8 bln euros in 2023. Implementation of joint projects - in energy and transport in particular - such as TurkStream and the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector, is of great importance for our further economic development," Momirovic said.

Besides bilateral cooperation, Serbia attaches great significance to regional economic ties, and initiatives such as the Alpine-Western Balkan rail freight corridor have the potential to additionally connect our regions and open up new opportunities for economic cooperation, Momirovic said in a statement released by his ministry.

"Additional space for advancement of regional economic cooperation needs to be sought in associations of companies and promotion of joint business operations, with special focus on the markets of countries with which Serbia has signed FTAs," Momirovic noted.

He said major new infrastructure projects such as the Belgrade EXPO 2027 were an opportunity for all interested companies, including from Turkey and Bulgaria, to expand operations in the Serbian market.

"In spite of challenging circumstances, Serbia continues, in a determined manner, the process of opening up its economy by promoting its economic potentials and attracting investments. Bilateral cooperation, to which we attach special significance, especially when it comes to countries from our region, is an especially important segment of our strategy," he said.