Čadež: Serbia Has Increased Software and ICT Services Exports 13-Fold Since 2012

Serbia has increased its exports of software and ICT services 13-fold over the past 12 years, reaching a value of EUR 5.2 billion, while the number of engineers in the sector has grown to 150,000, Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, said at an innovation panel held as part of the international conference “Partners in a Changing World: Central and Eastern Europe, America, Israel and the New Middle East”, held at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

At the panel “Innovation and the Start-Up Nation Model — What Can Central and Eastern Europe Learn from Israel and What Can It Build in Cooperation with It?”, participants discussed Israel’s experience in building one of the world’s most successful innovation ecosystems, connecting research, technology and business, as well as the opportunities for Central and Eastern European countries to apply these experiences in line with their own development potential.

Israel’s experience in developing start-ups, innovation, research and development centres and global business connectivity represents a valuable example for Serbia, particularly in areas where the country is already building strong capacities — from the ICT sector and artificial intelligence to science and technology infrastructure and cooperation with international companies.

Čadež said that progress in innovation development is also reflected in the number of science and technology parks, of which there are currently six in Serbia, as well as in the country’s digital infrastructure, noting that Serbia has a Tier 4 State Data Centre.

“We also have two supercomputers owned by the state, as well as supporting data centres. As for the private sector, there is also a commercial artificial intelligence facility, an AI factory, which uses state-of-the-art technology, similar to that used in the Data Centre. It is difficult to find a country of this size in the EU that has such infrastructure and capacities,” Čadež said.

He noted that Serbia is home to more than 30 international research and development centres operated by some of the world’s largest companies, with Microsoft being the first major global company to establish a presence in Serbia.

“One of the first centres outside Microsoft’s headquarters is located in Serbia. Microsoft Azure, which is a backbone of artificial intelligence applications, was developed by Serbian engineers within Microsoft’s infrastructure development division,” Čadež said.

The key message of the session was that competitiveness in the modern world is increasingly built on knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship and the ability to connect scientific potential with global markets. Israel’s “Start-Up Nation” model demonstrates how a small country can build a strong technology sector, while Serbia, which has made significant progress in digitalisation and the development of its ICT industry over the past decade, can use these experiences as an impetus for the next phase of development.

The international conference “Partners in a Changing World: Central and Eastern Europe, America, Israel and the New Middle East” is organised by the Serbian-American Friendship Congress (KSAP).

The conference has brought together representatives of government institutions, the diplomatic corps, international organisations, the business community and the expert community to discuss current geopolitical challenges and opportunities for enhancing cooperation among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the United States, Israel and the Middle East.

PHOTO: KSAP