Čadež at the World Chambers Congress: See You in Belgrade at EXPO 2027

Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), invited representatives of chambers of commerce from around the world today in Melbourne to support his proposal for the Regional Congress of World Chambers to be held in Belgrade in 2027, as part of the Specialized Exhibition EXPO 2027.

The CCIS delegation, led by Čadež, is in Melbourne attending the 14th World Chambers Congress 2025 (14WCC). As the CCIS President emphasized, his proposal received strong interest from colleagues.

“The essence of our presence here is to discuss with presidents of chambers of commerce worldwide about their participation in EXPO 2027, activities, and the potential for joint cooperation,” said Čadež. He added that the CCIS delegation had a large number of meetings with presidents of international business associations during the very first day. He highlighted the meeting with Xiao Sun, Secretary General of the China Chamber of Commerce, which focused on the participation of Serbian companies at the suppliers’ fair in Beijing in July this year, the opening of this association’s office in Belgrade, and activities within EXPO 2027.

In Melbourne, Čadež also signed a Cooperation Agreement with Aigars Rostovskis, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Latvia, and held bilateral meetings with colleagues from Ukraine, North Macedonia, and other countries.

On the second day of the Congress, Čadež will take part in the inaugural meeting of the General Council of the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF GC), of which he was elected a member in June this year by votes from chamber presidents from over 120 countries.

The World Chambers Congress is positioned as the most important event in the business community. On the third day of the event, September 4, the winner of the World Chambers Competition will be announced. Among the finalists is the CCIS project – the Digital Transformation Center’s "SMEs Support to Digital and AI Transformation". The project reached the finals in the category "Best Chamber Innovation Project", competing with 83 projects from 41 countries.

Other finalists in this category include: Business West (UK) with *Innovations in International Trade: Carnet Tracker and CarnetCheck, Ankara Chamber of Commerce (Turkey) with ATONET Smart Assistant (AI-powered chatbot), and Iran Chamber of Commerce with the project CHaCHa chatbot.

The main theme of this year’s Congress is *“Business, Chambers, Governments: Partners for Prosperity.”* Participants will address shared global challenges such as international trade, geopolitical disruptions, investment readiness, sustainable energy transition, innovation, and digital transformation.

The World Chambers Congress, launched and organized by the World Chambers Federation (WCF) and the International Chamber of Commerce, is the largest and only global forum that enables chamber leaders and professionals to share best practices, exchange ideas, expand networks, and address the latest business issues affecting business communities.

The first Congress was held in 1999 in Marseille, France, and has since been organized every two years in different regions of the world. It offers vast opportunities for networking and strengthening ties with chambers, businesses, and experts from around the globe.

This year’s Congress in Melbourne, from September 2–4, has brought together 1,200 participants from over 100 countries. The previous Congress was held in Geneva in 2023.