Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Mihailo Vesović, met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Malta, Gordon Pace Bonnello, and discussed the possibilities of improving economic cooperation between the two countries. 
Economic cooperation between the two countries can be significantly improved, both through bilateral cooperation and through regional initiatives such as Open Balkan, especially in the sector of innovation, the gaming industry, information services, and tourism. In the following period, activities focused on the development and strengthening of economic cooperation between the two countries will be defined, it was pointed out at the meeting. Serbia's most imported products from Malta in 2022 were products of the pharmaceutical industry, while Serbia to Malta exported cigarettes, cars sets, and pasta.

New Possibilities of Cooperation with Malta 

There are great opportunities for excellent economic cooperation between Serbia and Italy, business community arrived in Belgrade with aim to do good business and explore opportunities for cooperation in new sectors such as innovations in food production, green transition, e-mobility, and infrastructure.
The business communities of Serbia and Italy have the full support of the highest institutions and officials who put the economy at the top of their agenda. This is the message from the Business Science Forum which was held in the Palace of Serbia with the aim to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The Forum, which was organized&nbsp;as part of the visit to Serbia of the Italian state-economic delegation led by Antonio Tajani, the Vice-President of the Italian Government, gathered more than 800 businessmen and representatives of institutions and associations.&nbsp;

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The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said at the opening of the Forum that Italy is a sincere friend of Serbia and that it was never among the countries that put heavy pressure on our country, but opened the door to cooperation.&nbsp; "For us, Italy is a sincere friend that we could always count on when it comes to our European journey and cooperate in all important and not always easy issues. Italy was never among those countries that put heavy pressure on Serbia, but was here to help and open the door to an agreement and further continuation of cooperation, not conflicts or problems," Vučić pointed out. He said that Italian entrepreneurs are more than welcome in our country.
Vučić pointed out that the foreign trade exchange between the two countries reached 4.6 billion euros last year. "I am inviting all Italian companies to come to Serbia," said Vučić and added that Serbia offers a safe environment for investment.

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Tajani pointed out that Italy wants to be more present in Serbia and the Balkans, which he said had strategic importance. "We started with a large Balkan country that is a candidate for EU membership. It is a political commitment of Italy, to be present again in Serbia and all parts of the Balkans. We want to continue to cooperate in the future with the people we have cooperated with in the past, Tajani said. At the same time, he thanked the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Government of Serbia for the efforts to restore peace in the Balkans. As a financially developed country, Italy has four million small and medium-sized enterprises pointed out Tajani and said he was confident that the knowledge and products Italy has could be exported.&nbsp; We are impressed by the number of businessmen at the business forum, for me, this is a sign that there is a willingness to cooperate and work together. Both Serbian companies and goods are welcome in Italy. We can do even more in the common interest, Tajani pointed out...

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The President of CCIS Marko Čadež said that this is the largest bilateral forum in the past 10 years, with more than 250 Serbian and 150 Italian businessmen participating. He thanked Vučić and Tajani for putting the economy at the forefront of their agenda.&nbsp;
The goal of holding this meeting is to improve overall economic relations between Serbia and Italy, to expand cooperation in the field of high technologies based on innovations and scientific achievements, as well as to present opportunities for new investments by Italian companies in our country.&nbsp; "Today we are here to do business," said Čadež and emphasized that Serbia is an excellent investment destination that has attracted two-thirds of the total investments in the region. As it was pointed out, the exchange between Serbia and Italy amounts to 4.6 billion euros, 10 percent higher than last year, and according to the President of Serbia, it is expected that the production of Stellantis' electric car in Kragujevac which is scheduled for next year will significantly improve the exchange.

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Three panels dedicated to energy and a green transition, agriculture, and infrastructure were held at the forum. About 600 bilateral business meetings (B2B) of Italian and Serbian companies have been scheduled. The multi-sector Italian business delegation was made from the sectors of renewable energy sources, waste and wastewater management, circular economy, biotechnology and agrotechnology, transport and logistics, railway machinery manufacturing, services, steel industry, construction industry, tourism and hotel industry, wood industry, and textiles.&nbsp; Representatives of the scientific community, faculties, institutes, and associations also participate in the forum. The forum was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) with the support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and the Italian Embassy in Serbia.







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A New Era of Serbian-Italian Economic Ties

InterConnect, one of the most important business events in the region, is a unique two-day meeting that will bring together international experts, representatives of European companies looking for business partners and suppliers in the Western Balkans, and domestic small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgrade, from 26 to 27 April.
InterConnect is organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and Convestenics company, with the support of the “Big Small Businesses” project funded by USAID, and implemented by ACDI/VOCA.
The Conference in Belgrade will be an opportunity for SMEs from the metal processing, rubber, plastic, and machinery industries to meet and negotiate new export deals directly at B2B meetings with the representatives of 15 large European companies from Germany, Italy Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, whose annual turnover exceeds EUR 24 billion.&nbsp;
“InterConnect is an excellent chance to network with a business partner at a totally different level, through matchmaking with the leaders of international companies with representatives of companies from Serbia and the region desiring to become partners to and suppliers of international corporations”, says Mihailo Vesović, Director of Division for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.&nbsp;&nbsp;
One of the main topics of the Conference will be a new German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which started to be applied as of 1 January of the current year, as well as sustainability and the most moving challenges faced by the global economy.&nbsp;
It is expected to have more than two hundred company representatives that will be provided with an opportunity to meet and network with reputable partners, arrange new businesses, as well as get involved in international supply chains, and share their experiences in the latest trends, challenges, and solutions in the field of production process sustainability, global trade and industry requirements with the global leading experts such as Ferdinand Wieland, CPO at the German company Thyssenkrupp Automotive.&nbsp;
The InterConnect Conference will be held at the Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade, whereas companies from the region can register for this event via the following link <a href="https://interconnect.pks.rs/">InterConnect (pks.rs)</a>

 Belgrade will host the Second Edition of InterConnect Conference in April

On Wednesday, March 15th,&nbsp; within the largest international real estate fair MIPIM World (https://www.mipim.com/) held in Cannes (France), a conference on Serbia's investment potential will be held under the title "Serbia - A Place for Your Growth“.
The world's largest investors who visit the fair, as well as numerous companies interested in investing in the real estate industry in Serbia,&nbsp; will be presented with firsthand information on the investment and business climate in Serbia and what opportunities Serbia currently offers for investments in the sector of residential, business, commercial, industrial and logistics real estate, as well as in the hotel industry and health tourism.&nbsp;

Investment Conference „ Serbia- A Place for Your Growth“ to be held in Cannes on March 15th 

Ten Serbian companies from the sector of embedded technologies will present their innovative products and services under the slogan "Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values" at the EMBEDDED WORLD 2023 which is to be held in Nuremberg (Germany)&nbsp;from March 14-16th.
With the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Development Agency of Serbia, the Serbian&nbsp;national pavilion will host the following companies&nbsp;NOVELIC, BITGEAR Wireless Design Services, HTEC GROUP, ELSYS Eastern Europe, MERAXES Solutions & Services, MIKROELEKTRONIKA, DECODE, VERIEST Venture Serbia, OBLO Living, and SYRMIA coming from Belgrade and Serbia.&nbsp; "This specialized fair provides an insight into the world of embedded systems, from components and modules to operating systems, hardware and software design, as well as M2M communication. With a focus on technological processes and products that are the future, this fair is a must-see event for programmers, system architects, product managers, and technical management," says Bojana Lalović from the CIS Trade Fairs Department.
Download a catallogue of Serbian exibitors&nbsp;<a href="https://fairs.pks.rs/embedded-world-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id="LPlnk891638" previewinformation="1">https://fairs.pks.rs/embedded-world-2023/</a>

Meet Serbian IT Companies at EMBEDDED WORLD 2023 

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia renewed its membership in the European Association of Textile Industry and Clothing "Euratex", whose 160,000-member companies come from 27 EU countries, Turkey, and the United Kingdom,&nbsp;&nbsp;generate an annual income of over 162 billion euros and employ more than 1.5 million people.
Membership of Euratex will enable domestic companies from the textile sector to have faster access to European funds, as well as the latest information regarding EU regulations," points out Milica Ljubojević, Secretary of the CCIS Association for the Textile, Clothing, Leather, and Footwear Industry, which has 2,000-member companies.

Learn more about Serbian Textile Sector&nbsp;<a href="https://en.pks.rs/industry-associations/association-14">https://en.pks.rs/industry-ass...</a>
 
Find your Supplier in Serbia&nbsp;<a href="https://en.pks.rs/find-your-supplier">https://en.pks.rs/find-your-su...</a>
 
Explore Investment Opportunities&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://en.pks.rs/invest-in-serbia">https://en.pks.rs/invest-in-se...</a>

Serbian Textile Companies Joined  "Euratex"

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Development Agency of Serbia are organizing an exhibition of Serbian companies from the fruit sector at the upcoming international fresh fruit and vegetable fair "FRUIT ATTRACTION" 2023, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, from October 3 to 5, 2023. The companies will present themselves at the National Stand of Serbia. This will be an opportunity for Serbian exporters to present their products, find new markets, and boost their presence within the existing network of business partners.&nbsp;
"FRUIT ATTRACTION" is one of the leading international fairs for fruit and vegetable producers in the world. It is held annually in Madrid and this year it celebrates its 15th anniversary. In the previous year, it gathered 1,800 exhibitors and over 90,000 business people from 137 countries.

Serbian Fruit and Vegetable Producers to Present at "FRUIT ATTRACTION " in Madrid

The Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, in cooperation with Chinese partners, opened the National Pavilion of Serbia in the Chinese Province of Anhui in the city of Bengbu, where companies and products from our country will be presented in one place. 
The exhibition space is located within the "Rising Moon Expo Park" complex, which covers 300,000 square meters and is a tourist attraction in that part of China. The&nbsp;construction of this complex is&nbsp;still ongoing.
Jelena Grubor Stefanović, Director of the CCIS Representative Office&nbsp;in China, says that the exhibition space will enable companies from our country to present their products on the large Chinese market, create opportunities for new business successes and further strengthen cooperation between the two economies.
The pavilion was officially opened by the acting Consul General of the Republic of&nbsp;Serbia in Shanghai Saša Jeremić and Jelena Grubor Stefanović, Director of the CCIS Representative office in China.<div class="article-photo"><img src="https://en-api.pks.rs/storage/assets/IMG_3080.jpg" id="image-tag-1676894667121" data-image-alignment="article-photo" data-image-size-id="original" data-asset-id="783"></div>

 The Serbian Pavilion Opened in the Chinese city of Bengbu

Serbian food sector companies will participate from February 20 to 24 at the International Food Industry Fair "Gulfood" 2023, which will be held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Development Agency of Serbia organized the presentation of 25 domestic companies that will present their products at the National Stand of Serbia in one of the main halls of the fair - Trade Center Arena & Sheikh Saeed Halls. Performance at the international fair enables exhibitors to present their products and offer them to new markets, promote them to existing ones, and acquire new business contacts. "Gulfood" is one of the largest and most important specialized exhibitions of the food industry in the UAE and the Gulf region. It is a place where producers/exporters and distributors as well as&nbsp;representatives of leading retail chains meet. The fair covers 100,000 square meters and is visited annually by more than 70,000 visitors from around 160 countries who have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the production program of 2,600 exhibitors in eight sectors. Serbia companies presenting at Gulfood2023 are "Tartufi SR", "The Fun&Fit Company", "Nisha", "NS Bomi", "Packom International", "Minela", "Master Food", "PIK Bečej", "Master Fruits", "Laki", "Yumis", "Sirogojno Company", "Agranela", "Cold Pressok", "ITN Group", "Budimka", Fruct Company", "Zdravo Organic", "Strela", "Jaffa Crvenka", "Damar Confit", "Our Honey", "Don Don", "Revita" and "Adore Chocolat".
Download Catallogue of Exibitors HERE&nbsp;<a href="https://fairs.pks.rs/gulfood-2023/">https://fairs.pks.rs/gulfood-2...</a>

Serbian Food at  "Gulfood" 2023  

Serbia and Romania have excellent bilateral relations, but also great opportunities for strengthening business ties and economic cooperation, especially in the energy, logistics, trade and tourism sectors, it was pointed out at the meeting between Mihai Vesović, Director of the Department for Internationalization of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and Mihai Daraban, President of the Romania Chambers of Commerce. "I also discussed the potential of the Danube River with the representatives of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce regarding the possible implementation of a large number of cross-border and regional projects. Also, a big Serbian-Romanian Business Forum is expected to be held in Belgrade soon," Vesović said after the meetings in Bucharest. During his working visit to Romania, Vesović participated in the multilateral meeting of the Carpathian Initiative, which was attended by the director of the European Chamber (Euchambers) Ben Buters, as well as the presidents of the chambers of commerce of Romania, Poland, and Ukraine. The participants pointed out the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation and regional initiatives, and sustainabilit. Environmental protection and strengthening the competitiveness of this region were highlighted as the most important topics.<div class="article-photo"><img src="https://en-api.pks.rs/storage/assets/Vesovic-Bukurest (3)1.jpg" id="image-tag-1676537269879" data-image-alignment="article-photo" data-image-size-id="original" data-asset-id="778"></div>

DANUBE- A Strong Point for Cooperation between Serbia and Romania

Serbian organic producers will, traditionally, for the fifth year in a row present their products at the National&nbsp;Booth of Serbia at the International Organic Food Fair BIOFACH. The Fair will be held&nbsp;from February 14th to 17th, 2023 in Nuremberg (Germany).
Twelve companies from Serbia will present their products under the slogan "We speak organic - Organic product from Serbia - Tradition Transformed into Innovation", with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the&nbsp;Development Agency of Serbia, the Swiss Export Promotion Program (SIPPO) and the National Association Serbia Organica.
The companies MENEX from Kruševac, ECOAGRI SERBIA from Bela Crkva, MASTER FOOD from Užice, FRUTORGA from Prokuplje, MEDINO from Krnjevo, BMD, DRENOVAC and YUGOTREJD from Arilje, ORGANIK FRUIT TRADE from Šabac, ITN GROUP from Belgrade, AGRO-BIS&nbsp; from Blac and ES KOMERC from Prijepolje will present their offer.&nbsp; Their offer includes a wide range of products from fresh, dried, frozen fruits and vegetables, fruit purees, and dried mushrooms, to cereal products, organic pasta, fruit jams, and organic honey.
"In the past few months, our exhibitors have been thoroughly preparing for&nbsp;the BIOFACH2023 Fair, with the special support of the&nbsp; Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia&nbsp;and the Swiss Export Promotion Program (SIPPO)," says Bojana Lalović from the CCIS Center for Fair&nbsp;Organization.
The focus was on sustainability&nbsp;and the promotion of sustainable production. Companies gained insight into all segments of the production process in global supply chains, from raw material preparation to packaging, Lalović said.
At the National Stand, several&nbsp; "Partnership for Sustainability"&nbsp;events, which will be an opportunity to host partners and customers from Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Germany, promote the production of Serbian organic producers, as well as learn more from sustainability leaders, such as Scandinavian countries, she pointed out.
BIOFACH is the world's largest fair in the field of organic production and is held under the auspices of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Traditionally, during the four-day&nbsp;fair, conferences, seminars, and workshops are held, which form a unique platform for the exchange of knowledge, information, and professional skills among producers, buyers, suppliers, and other interested parties for innovative products and services from the organic sector.
All partners and interested buyers can find us at Hall 4A- Stand 711Download catallogue of Serbian Exibitors <a href="https://fairs.pks.rs/biofach-2023/">HERE</a>

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 Serbian Organic Producers at BIOFACH2023

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the company Rakuten Viber will be strategic partners in the development of services for small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia with the aim of digitizing their business, it was agreed today at the meeting of Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) and Atanas Raykov, Senior Director Growth Top Markets at Rakuten Viber.
Services for small and medium-sized enterprises in our country will be developed through the CCIS Center for Digital Transformation, Čadež announced today at the presentation "Viber in 2023: A Super-application for interaction between users and brands" held at the CCIS.
 
"We have agreed to be strategic partners in developing services for small and medium-sized enterprises through the Center for Digital Transformation of the CCIS, whose programs thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises have used to digitalize their businesses. Now, together with Viber, we want to make an even bigger step forward," said Čadež.
 
New business functionalities of the application, "Business inbox", "Commercial orders" and "Viber for small and medium-sized enterprises", have been presented by representatives of the Rakuten Viber company.
 
Atanas Rajkov, Senior Director Growth Top Markets at Rakuten Viber pointed out that Viber is installed on 90 percent of all active mobile phone numbers in Serbia, 96 percent in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, 86 percent in Albania while 84 percent of mobile phone numbers in North Macedonia have this app installed.
 
"In Serbia, a million users use our application every day. In addition to personalized users, we also work on developing services for large, small, and medium-sized companies. "Serbia is a market of key importance for Viber, and when working on the development of new functionalities and solutions, we strive to take into account the experiences of millions of users, as well as numerous partners, clients, and institutions from your country," said Rajkov.