Business Forum in Belgrade: A Turning Point in Serbia-Italy Cooperation

The fourth major Serbia-Italy business forum in the past 14 months will be held today in Belgrade, gathering over 500 businesspeople, representatives of more than 200 Italian and 250 Serbian companies from nearly all economic sectors, ranging from agri-food production to ICT and energy, announced Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS).

Speaking on Radio Television of Serbia, Čadež expressed confidence that Serbia’s trade exchange with Italy will reach five billion euros by the end of the year.

"More than half of the Italian companies attending the forum come from the services, ICT, logistics, and energy sectors, especially renewable energy sources. Italy is among our most important trading partners. I believe we will close the year with a trade exchange of five billion euros," Čadež stated, saying that Italian companies have so far invested over four billion euros in Serbia.

He explained that Italian and Serbian companies cooperate well because both economies are largely comprised of small and medium-sized family businesses. Serbian firms can learn a lot from their Italian counterparts, particularly about the transfer of family businesses to younger generations.

"We are at a generational turning point. Italy has mastered the process of passing down family businesses from generation to generation, enabling them to grow from small to medium-sized enterprises and integrate more quickly into international supply chains," Čadež emphasized.

He highlighted joint projects between Serbian and Italian companies in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, and energy, while also stressing the strategic importance of the port of Trieste for the Serbian economy.

"When you have strong political relations, as Serbia and Italy have enjoyed for years, you can work on strategic projects," the CCIS president noted.

Čadež expects a significant number of B2B meetings between Serbian and Italian business representatives today and underlined the importance of planned panel discussions focusing on finance, ICT technologies, and agriculture.

He also pointed out that Italy recognizes the significance of the Western Balkans as a priority in its foreign policy and economic diplomacy. Italy has been a strong advocate for Serbia and the region’s integration into the European single market and the European Union.