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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia interested in expanding cooperation with France in many areas

Belgrade/Paris, 9 April 2024

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said in Paris today, where a meeting of the France-Serbia Business Council was held, that Serbia is interested in expanding cooperation with France in many areas.

At a meeting with representatives of the Movement of the Enterprises of France - MEDEF, Vucic pointed out that 339 French companies are currently operating in Serbia, which employ 11,125 people.

He emphasised that the agency Standard & Poor's improved the rating of our country, which is now one step away from the investment rating, adding that Serbia has good public finances.

The President of the Republic said that Serbia needs cooperation with French companies and cited the Belgrade Metro as one of the examples of that cooperation, for which an operator will have to be found.

According to him, we also need cooperation with companies for the construction of landfills and waste management because Serbia is not able to manage those systems, which is why there is a lot of space for French companies.

Also, we look forward to future cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and are grateful to France, which helped us chair the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, which is of the greatest importance for us, said Vucic.

He pointed out that talks have started with Électricité de France (EDF) about nuclear energy because it is green energy that will create a sustainable system for Serbia.

He stated that these are huge investments, but that Serbia is ready to cooperate closely with France.

The President of the Republic recalled that Serbia will host the International Specialised Exhibition EXPO 2027 and that numerous projects are planned as part of the preparations for that event, noting that there is a huge scope for the participation of French companies.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis, Serbia managed to achieve positive growth rates, as evidenced by the fact that last year's GDP growth rate was 2.5 percent.

He emphasised that Serbia has an all-time high employment rate and that all measures taken in the last few years, regardless of the world crisis, have yielded results.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia has proven to be an extremely attractive investment destination, partly because of French companies.

Presenting the "Leap into the Future - Serbia 2027" plan, he said that in the next three, three and a half years, investments of approximately €18 billion are planned in order to reach the goal of GDP at the level of €100 billion in 2027.

Mali emphasised that the "Serbia 2027" plan is comprehensive and covers every branch of industry, and he singled out the BIO4 campus as an important project, the largest biotechnology campus being built in Serbia and Southeast Europe, which will completely change the perspective of the artificial intelligence industry and IT innovation in the entire region.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that Serbia invests a lot in road and railway infrastructure, green transition, energy and agriculture.

Mali pointed out that Serbia managed to be selected as the host of EXPO 2027 and that as part of the preparations for that specialised exhibition, it is planning huge infrastructure works not only in Belgrade, but also in the entire country.