Elias Eliadis, Ambassador of Greece to Serbia – Excellent relations of the two countries need to be reflected in the field of economy too

(Elias Eliadis) In mid-March, the Greek-Serbian Business Forum was held in Thessaloniki, a now traditional event for business people from Serbia and Greece to meet and discuss the possibilities of further cooperation.

One of the most important aspects of these meetings is looking for ways to increase the level of bilateral trade between the two countries.

As the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia show, the total foreign trade with Greece amounted to EUR 448.5 million.

Of this amount, Serbia exported goods in the amount of EUR 162.1 million, which puts Greece in the 23rd spot on the list of countries Serbia exports to, making up 1.1% of total exports.

On the other hand, Serbia imported goods in the amount of EUR 286.4 million from Greece last year, which puts Greece in the 19th spot on the list of countries Serbia imports from, making up 1.5% of Serbia`s total imports.

Elias Eliadis, Ambassador of Greece to Serbia, says in his interview for eKapija that “there is great potential to develop the bilateral economic cooperation not only in the form of trade exchanges but also through joint ventures/investments in Serbia, joint ventures/investments in Greece, as well as joint cooperation in third countries”.

He says that the recent Greek–Serbian business forum created this framework for such synergies in sectors like food, energy, ICT, tourism, real estate and pharmaceuticals and adds that great interest from both sides has been shown and that some joint projects will be eventually undertaken in the short-medium run.

eKapija: Greece is one of Serbia’s most important international partners. How do you see the current state of the economic and trade ties of our two countries?

– Greece and Serbia have always enjoyed excellent bilateral economic relations. Despite the economic crisis, Greek businesses have continued to operate and flourished in Serbia, serving as a sound vote of confidence for the country`s ability to attract foreign investors and a clear proof of an ever improving business environment.

On the other hand these relations are not equally reflected in the commercial sector, where our overall bilateral trade volume still remains low, despite our potentials.

We therefore consider that great potential exists to further develop our trade relations. This is going to be implemented by jointly exploring opportunities and complementarities in sectors like agriculture, food and beverage, building and construction materials, energy, information and communication technologies etc.

In order to fully exploit our economic and trade potential, a series of trade events in Serbia are regularly organized, such as missions from Greece to Serbia, promotional events for specific groups of products (i.e. food and beverage, construction materials) etc.

We believe that the anticipated strong growth of the Greek Economy in the coming years will lead to a continually increasing interest of the Greek business society for the Serbian market as well as of the Serbian business society for the Greek market .

eKapija: Greek owned companies in Serbia are involved in various business segments, from banking and real estate to constructions and heavy industry, and with huge investments. In which fields can companies from the two countries establish further cooperation? How many Greek companies do currently do business in Serbia, and how many people do they employ?

– Approximately 200 Greek companies in Serbia operate in various sectors such as food and beverage, telecommunications, retail, construction, hotel and heavy industry and finance.

About 20,000 people are employed at the several Greek companies in Serbia and today’s invested capital exceeds the amount of 2 billion euro.

On the other hand new potential sectors for dynamic business cooperation have shown up like for example the tourism, the real estate, the agriculture, the construction, the energy/RES, the transport, the waste management, the recycling, the waste water treatment, the information and communication technologies, the pharmaceuticals, the irrigation systems, the logistics, the mining and the health–medical services

eKapija: How often do Greek and Serbian business people turn to you for advice how to reach the Serbian market and how do you present Serbia as an investment destination?

– The Economic and Commercial Affairs department of the Greek Embassy in Belgrade helps Greek and Serbian companies by providing all information necessary for the import and export of products and any other assistance needed for the promotion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

This consists mainly of keeping Greek and Serbian companies updated on measures of an economic, commercial or financial nature related to foreign trade and to customs legislation in both countries, as well as assisting them in finding the right contacts for networking and expanding their business inland and abroad.

The Economic and Commercial Affairs department organizes conferences, workshops and business missions aimed at developing business cooperation with Serbian companies, and at attracting foreign investment in Greece as well as promoting Greek investments in Serbia.

eKapija: How important is the existence of the Hellenic Business Association (HBA) for the strengthening of business connections between the two?

– The Hellenic Business Association (HBA) has nearly 90 member companies, small, medium and large scale ones, which apart from the Greek ones, include Serbian and international companies.

The HBA is actively working on boosting the mutual cooperation. It is doing this though the activities and initiatives that it implements. It organizes business meetings and social events in order to enable the members to exchange business information, it creates networking among the members but also with members of other foreign associations and chambers.

It also offers information to its members about procedures and obstacles of doing business in Serbia.

Milos Vlahovic

Ambasada Grčke Beograd

Helensko Privredno udruženje Srbije

Republički zavod za statistiku

Elias Eliadis

Embassy of Greece in Serbia

Economic and Commercial Affairs department of the Greek Embassy in Belgrade

Hellenic Business Association

HBA

Greek Serbian Business Forum

bilateral trade between Serbia and Greece

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

foreign trade between Serbia and Greece

trade between Serbia and Greece

export to Greece

import from Greece

investments in Serbia

investments from Greece

investors from Greece

Greek companies in Serbia

Greek Serbian business connections

from an ambassadors angle