Partnership Between Serbia and Qatar for Strong Startups and Innovation, Serbian LLM Presented to Cosgrave

The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), Marko Čadež, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Web Summit Qatar in Doha with Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Communications Office, formalizing a strategic partnership aimed at connecting the Serbian and Qatari startup ecosystems and strengthening economic and technological ties between the two countries.

As part of the conference, Čadež also met with Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, whom he introduced to a new project focused on the development of a Serbian Large Language Model (LLM).

The Memorandum envisages the official presentation of Serbia at Web Summit Qatar through the Serbian Startup Pavilion, joint participation in international forums and events, and a stronger presence of Serbian startups on the global innovation scene. The signing ceremony was attended by Soud Ahmed Al Boinin, Chairman of Web Summit Qatar, as well as Dr. Marija Jović, Chargé d’Affaires of Serbia in Qatar.

During talks with Sheikh Jassim, the establishment of a joint platform between Serbian and Qatari technology and engineering companies was discussed. The goal, as emphasized at the meeting, is long-term and structured cooperation that would enable Serbian companies to offer their technological solutions, products, and expertise to the Qatari and regional markets, as well as to jointly enter third-country markets. Major events such as Web Summit were recognized as key platforms for networking and building partnerships through concrete projects and activities.

At the meeting with Cosgrave, the strong performance of the Serbian delegation in Qatar and the great potential of the startup community were highlighted, along with the fact that the European Web Summit will remain the “flagship” event. Čadež and Cosgrave also discussed trends in artificial intelligence (AI) and developments in Europe in this field. The President of CCIS informed the Web Summit founder about the development of AI infrastructure in Serbia and the new project for creating a Serbian LLM currently in preparation.

For the first time, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia is organizing the participation of Serbian startup companies at Web Summit Qatar, which is being held from February 1 to 4, 2026, in Doha. The conference brings together more than 30,000 participants, 1,500 startups, 700 investors, 350 speakers, and around 600 media representatives from over 120 countries.

Serbia is presenting itself through the national exhibition area “Serbian Island,” where eight Serbian startup companies from the fields of the digital economy, industry, security, and healthcare are showcasing their solutions: Smart Part, SpiceAds, MyFlow, Baby FM, Marina Int, Protokol, CyberParent, and Advanced Security Technologies. These companies have the opportunity to present their innovations to investors, global corporations, and institutions, as well as to participate in numerous B2B and B2G meetings, further strengthening the international visibility of the Serbian startup ecosystem.