New Steps in Economic Cooperation between Serbia and the UK

Trade cooperation between Serbia and the United Kingdom (UK) can be significantly improved as well as promotion of the entire region of the Western Balkans (WB) as an investment destination. In the upcoming period, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the Embassy will work on stronger promotion of available financial tools that export credit agency UK Export Finance offers, as well as on strengthening cooperation between Serbian and British companies in the service sector, especially in the field of IT, it was pointed out at the meeting of the presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež and H.E. Edward Ferguson the new British ambassador in Belgrade.

"We want to organize a series of workshops dedicated to the promotion of financial mechanisms that UK Export Finance offers. Also, next year we are planning to organize a conference in London dedicated both to b2b matching of Serbian and British companies in the IT sector, and promotion of the Western Balkan region as an investment destination", said the president of the CCIS, emphasizing the importance of the WB region when it comes to rare metals and pointing out that it is important for the region to access the EU's single regional market as soon as possible.
British Ambassador Edward Ferguson said that Serbia and the UK have room to cooperate more intensively in areas such as energy, construction, and ICT services and expressed readiness to cooperate in the implementation of workshops aimed at promoting financial tools offered by UK Export Finance. As it was pointed out at the meeting, within the funds of the British export credit agency, over 12 billion euros are available for the realization of projects in Serbia and the region, but also for the financing of joint projects of Serbian and British companies in third markets.
The trade exchange between Serbia and the United Kingdom in the period from 2012 to 2022 ranged from 289.2 million euros to 788.3 million euros and it increased by 172.6% in the last 11 years. In the observed period, exports from the Republic of Serbia increased four times, while imports from the United Kingdom almost doubled. Since 2017, the volume of trade has exceeded half a billion euros. Since 2016, the Republic of Serbia has recorded a surplus in trade in goods with the United Kingdom, thanks to the faster growth of the export of goods from the Republic of Serbia compared to the import of goods from the United Kingdom.
In terms of trade of services, according to data from the National Bank of Serbia, the United Kingdom is one of the most important partners, and with this country, the Republic of Serbia records a positive balance year after year. Compared to other countries, the United Kingdom is in third place, behind the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany, both in terms of the value of total exchange and in terms of the value of exports and surplus in trade in services.