Economic exchange of Serbia and Greece EUR 380 million – Modernization of Belgrade-Thessaloniki railway and construction of highway to Athens possible

Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic announced on January 31, after his talks with Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras, that the joint session of the governments of the two states would be held in spring in Thessaloniki.

Vucic said that the economic exchange between the two countries amounted to EUR 380 million at the moment, which, as he estimated, is insufficient, and the goal is thereby for it to increase considerably in the years to come, says the Government’s website.

He underlined that Serbia could increase the export of agricultural and food products to Greece and emphasized that it was important for a better railway infrastructure to be built, as well as the railway between Belgrade and Thessaloniki. The goal to be achieved by 2020, as he said, is for the trip from Budapest through Belgrade to Thessaloniki to take less than 30 hours, instead of the current 49.

Vucic said that the construction of highways was also important for Serbia and that Belgrade and Athens, i.e. the Port of Piraeus, should be linked.

The prime minister of Serbia also noted that tourism was very important and added that Greece was the primary destination for people of Serbia, but also that the number of Greek tourists had grown considerably in 2016, compared to 2015.

– Serbia and Greece are marking 150 years from the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2017, which is a great occasion for us to further strengthen our relations – Tsipras pointed out.

Emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation, he reminded that Greece was the third largest investor in Serbia and a very important destination for Serbian tourists and that it had been agreed to make concrete steps towards further improving the cooperation, in order to make it strategic.

– We have reached an agreement on establishing a high council for cooperation in the coming period, which is to have a session next spring in Thessaloniki – Tsipras announced and added that the city had connected the two peoples in the past and that it should also be a key place in the future.

He emphasized the importance of enhancing railway connections between Belgrade and Thessaloniki and said that the possibility of bringing the two countries closer through a modernized railway network had been considered.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Vlada Grčke

Government of Serbia

Government of Greece

Aleksandar Vucic

Alexis Tsipras

Greece export

Greece import

Belgrade Thessaloniki railway

Belgrade Athens highway

Port of Piraeus

council for cooperation of Serbia and Greece