A New Era of Economic Relations between Serbia and Japan

Serbia and Japan have entered a new era of economic relations, as evidenced by the increasing investments from Japan in recent years said Marko Čadež, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia,  during his visit to Japan, highlighting the collaborative efforts to reach an agreement on protecting and promoting assets. 

A state-economic delegation from Serbia is currently in Tokyo from June 3 to 6. During this economic mission, they showcased the potential of the Serbian economy to Japan. The visit was organized in collaboration with the Government of Japan, as well as the Development Agency of Serbia (DAS) and CCIS. The delegation included the ministers of trade, science and economy, Tomislav Momirović, Jelena Begović and Adrijana Mesarović, alongside Marko Čadež, and representatives of DAS and Serbian companies such as ELIXIR Group, MIND Group, MIKROELEKTRONIKA, BITGEAR, SMARTCAT, and Pepper consulting group (PSG). 

Marko Čadež emphasized the significant progress in economic relations, stating, "We have a clear mission and have come with a clear message following the Serbia-Japan Business Summit held in Belgrade two years ago. We are now in a new era of economic relations, with the number of Japanese investments and established factories showing an increasing trend. Over 250 million euros have been invested since then, and almost 500 million euros over the last five years, demonstrating a growing trend."

Companies from Japan are interested in coming to Serbia and investing in production processes and facilities, primarily because of the proximity and entry into the European market. There is a noticeable trend of shifting investments from Asia to Europe, and according to Čadež, Serbia is in a good geographical position.

It was agreed to speed up the work on the development of an agreement on the protection and promotion of investments, and the president of the CCIS said that the finalization of this agreement could be expected at the beginning of the following year. Also, he added that it has been agreed that a visit of Japanese companies to Serbia would be organized already at the beginning of autumn, primarily in the field of artificial intelligence, IT, and innovative hardware.

"We came with domestic companies to show that Serbia can offer innovative solutions to the largest Japanese companies and corporations that have big challenges and need fresh ideas and smaller companies that will offer some solutions more flexibly," explains Čadež. The President of CCIS emphasized that the reopening of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) office in Serbia would be additional support for existing and new investors in the Serbian economy and a significant signal for strengthening the long-term economic dialogue between Serbia and Japan.

During the meeting at the Japanese Business Association "Keidanren", Čadež pointed out that the Serbian economy has transformed into a knowledge-based economy, moving from traditional industries to high-tech industries. As part of this transformation, Japanese colleagues, who possess expertise and advanced technologies, were presented with the potential for investments in green transition projects and cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

During the visit to Japan, meetings were held with representatives of several Japanese ministries - for foreign affairs, internal affairs, and communications, which is responsible for artificial intelligence, trade, and science, as well as with representatives of the Japan Foreign Trade Organization.

A business forum was also organized where investment and business opportunities in Serbia were presented to Japanese companies. Discussions were held with members of the most influential and largest Japanese business association "Keidanren", which represents the interests of the largest Japanese companies, and meetings were also held with fifteen of the largest multinational companies from Japan, including Mitsubishi, Toyota, Hitachi, Itochu, Japan Tobacco, Toshiba, Takenaka.