Business Forum Serbia-Spain on November 3 in Belgrade

The Business Forum SERBIA – SPAIN, which was announced this summer during the official visit to Belgrade by the prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and the president of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, will be held on November 3, 2022, at Hotel Hilton in Belgrade.

This forum is realized through the cooperation of the Commercial Department of the Embassy of Spain in Belgrade, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. The Spanish delegation is led by the Spanish minister of industry, trade and tourism, Reyes Maroto.

Within the business forum, Serbia will be visited by nearly 20 Spanish companies, among which are some of the leading and most successful companies in Spain and Europe, which operate in various sectors, such as: energy, renewable energy sources, rail and traffic infrastructure, arms industry, aviation, construction, IT & telecommunications, veterinarian sector, consulting services and the environment. Here you can view the full list of the Spanish companies which are participating.

The principal objective of this event is the strengthening of bilateral economic and trade relations and enabling companies from both countries to learn about the markets of Spain and Serbia, as well as the business opportunities which are opening regarding investments and trade. At the following link, you can find the full agenda and the official program of the business forum.

We are asking all those who are interested in attending the business forum to apply and register by filling out this form, no later than October 31.

The current state of the bilateral relations of Spain and Serbia

The bilateral trade of Serbia and Spain reached EUR 722 million in 2021, recording a fantastic growth of over 100% in the past six years. This trend was preserved even during the most difficult years of the pandemic, as well as in 2022, also in a difficult international context, whereby Spanish exports recorded a growth of 39.6%, and Serbian exports grew 42.3% in the first eight months of this year. This exchange is not just positive, but also balanced: Spanish exports to Serbia amounted to EUR 397.25 million in 2021, whereas Serbian exports to Spain reached EUR 325 million.

Spanish companies took part in the realization of various capital projects in Serbia, financed by European or international funds, in construction, as well as through consulting services, training and professional development. Also, Spanish companies are expressing, with an increasing frequency, an interest in investing in the development of renewable energy in Serbia, the sector in which Spain is a world leader.

Spanish investments in Serbia amount to close to EUR 200 million and are evenly distributed across various sectors: automotive, food, construction, textile industries, waste management services and consulting services, renewable energy sources etc.

The investments are facilitated by the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments and the Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation.

The areas of potential cooperation between Serbian and Spanish companies are multiple: rail infrastructure, living environment, renewable energy sources, arms industry, IT, agriculture, food industry and machine industry. Tourism shouldn’t be forgotten either as a sector that incites meeting and mutual understanding. The direct flights which have been launched in the past years certainly facilitate this cultural exchange.

Spain in the world

Spain has positioned itself as a European and world leader in various strategic sectors: the experience of its experts and the achievements of Spanish companies have been recognized as examples of good practice and as very useful for future projects, in both Serbia and other countries – in infrastructure, fields such as energy, traffic, culture, etc. In concrete terms, did you know that Spain is:

– the country with the biggest highway network in the EU and the second biggest fast rail network in the world;

– a leader in the production of clean electrical energy: 67.4% of its production comes from clean sources, which places it fifth on the global ranking list;

– eighth in the world on the list of countries with the biggest installed capacities of renewable energy according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, with 59,108 MW;

– the second biggest car manufacturer in Europe and ninth in the world;

– third in the EU when it comes to network connections and seventh when it comes to the digitization of public services, high above the European average (Digital Economy and Society Index 2021);

– the biggest European producer of fruit and vegetables, olive oil and wine, with the biggest fishing industry, while also being the second biggest producer of pork meat in the EU;

– the fourth biggest exporter in the agricultural-food sector in the EU;

– one of the world leaders in the tourist industry; with over 83 million tourists visiting Spain each year, it is second in the world when it comes to the number of visitors;

– third in the world when it comes to the number of locations on the UNESCO World Heritage List (48 locations) and the country with the highest number of biosphere reserves in the world?

The business forum in Belgrade between Spain and Serbia is an excellent opportunity for the economic cooperation of these two countries to be improved even further and for the already excellent friendly and diplomatic relations to continue.

Ambasada Kraljevine Španije Beograd

Trgovinsko-ekonomsko odeljenje Ambasade Spanije

Privredna komora Srbije

Government of Spain

Embassy of Spain

Commercial Department of the Embassy of Spain in Serbia

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Spanish Chamber of Commerce

Business Forum Serbia Spain

Pedro Sanchez

Aleksandar Vucic

Reyes Maroto

Hotel Hilton

bilateral relations of Spain and Serbia

Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments

Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation

Serbia Spain flight

pork meat

olive oil