General Assembly of Balkan Chambers: EXPO 2027 Offers Great Opportunities for Regional Economies

The General Assembly (GA) of the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC) was held in Skopje, bringing together presidents and representatives of the chambers of commerce from ten member countries of this significant business network: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey. The session featured a presentation on the specialized exhibition EXPO Belgrade 2027 and the opportunities this event offers to the economies of the Balkans.

Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Vice President of Eurochambres, and Chairman of the World Chambers Federation (ICC), also met with the representatives of the Balkan chambers. He emphasized the crucial importance of cooperation among Balkan countries for developing the entire Southeast European region.

As highlighted at the ABC General Assembly, significant opportunities exist for collaboration among regional economies in infrastructure connectivity, mutual and joint investments, and forming business consortiums that can co-produce and present unified market approaches at local, regional, and global levels.

Digitalization and Education as Key Drivers

Beyond strong infrastructure links, the development of the ICT sector and the digitalization of traditional industries are essential for better economic integration and the full utilization of each economy’s potential, as well as the entire area covered by the ABC chambers. Equally important is workforce development through aligning educational systems with market demands and modern labor trends.

This year, the Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce took over the ABC presidency from North Macedonia.

Before the ABC General Assembly, the Sixth Session of the National Export Council of the Government of North Macedonia was held at the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, presided over by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Chamber President Branko Azeski. During the session, the Export Institute, operating within the Chamber, was officially inaugurated.

Three Decades of the Association of Balkan Chambers

Since its establishment in 1994, the Association of Balkan Chambers has been dedicated to strengthening economic ties among member states, removing administrative and business barriers, supporting the CEFTA agreement, fostering new bilateral and multilateral partnerships, and increasing trade and investment flows.

Serbia maintains intensive economic cooperation with most ABC member states, hosting multiple major business events annually, involving hundreds of companies and thousands of B2B meetings.

For the first nine months of 2024, Serbia’s total trade volume with ABC member countries reached €10.4 billion. Serbian exports to ABC countries exceeded €6 billion, accounting for 27.45% of Serbia’s total exports worldwide during the period. Imports from ABC member countries amounted to €4.4 billion, representing 15.33% of Serbia’s total imports, as reported by Tatjana Maksimović Vujisić, Head of the Center for Multilateral Cooperation at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS).

Serbia recorded a trade surplus of €1.7 billion with ABC member states in the first nine months of 2024, achieving a positive balance in trade with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Romania, while registering a deficit with Turkey and Greece, Maksimović Vujisić added. The ABC region boasts over 130 million consumers.

Regional Cooperation and Trade Facilitation

Discussing the improvement of regional cooperation through infrastructure connectivity, Maksimović Vujisić reminded the GA participants of a joint initiative proposed by Marko Čadež, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Luka Burilović, President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. The initiative urges national governments and the European Commission to adopt urgent measures to accelerate and facilitate the movement of goods at border crossings between the EU and the Western Balkans within the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region.

Following the adoption of this initiative by the Board of Directors of the Forum of Adriatic-Ionian Chambers, it was also included on the agenda of the 9th EUSAIR Forum in Šibenik. A key outcome was the establishment of a Working Group within the Forum to address cross-border trade challenges, which has been active since January 2025. The group is advocating with the European Commission for swift solutions to border-related trade bottlenecks between the Western Balkans and EU member states, Maksimović Vujisić noted.

The PKS delegation attending the ABC General Assembly also included Marija Borota, Advisor to the President of PKS.