Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia, Romania to improve trade relations

Belgrade, 30 March 2004

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said at a conference on investment in southeastern Europe that both Serbia and Romania must modernise production and restructure their economies in order to boost trade between each other.

Miroljub Labus

Labus told the conference at Belgrade's Hyatt hotel today that the average annual trade between Serbia and Romania in the past three years has been around $200 million and added that Serbia is the one to have had a negative trade balance.

Labus explained that main obstacles have been the structure of trade between the two countries, which is inherited from the past, and the fact that food and metals have made up most of the trade. Labus said it is necessary to start trade in technology durable goods.

Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Predrag Bubalo said that estimates show that trade between Serbia and Romania should treble after the creation of a free trade zone in the region.

Bernard Snoy of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe said that one of the Stability Pact's main goals is to help improve and monitor foreign investment in the region. He added that investment in the region amounted to $5 billion last year, of which more than $1 billion was poured in Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Croatia.

Head of the European Commission's delegation to Serbia-Montenegro Geoffrey Barrett recalled that the European Union invested some $7 billion in the region between 1991 and 2001, as part of efforts to help the region's countries get closer to the EU. He added, however, that their accession much depends on themselves and their governments' readiness to carry out difficult reforms. Barrett also said that the EU invested a further $5.6 billion between 2002 and 2004.

Also attending the conference were Serbian Chamber of Commerce Director Milos Radivojcevic, Secretary-General of the Foreign Investors Council Christof Greussing, and Romanian Assistant Minister of Economy Andrei Grigorescu, the Beta news agency reported.