The strengthening of economic and trade ties between Greece and Serbia was at the focus of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis’ discussions and contacts, over the course of his two-day visit to Belgrade, on November 15 and 16.
Mr. Fragogiannis had successive meetings with Ministers of the Serbian government, as well as representatives of Greek businesses with the aim of further strengthening the economic and trade ties between Greece and Serbia, settling long-standing issues and creating new prospects for the business communities of the two countries. Specifically, Mr. Fragogiannis met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nikola Selaković, the State Secretary, Mr. Nemanja Starović and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Bilateral Cooperation, Mr. Miroslav Knezević, with the Minister of Energy, Ms Zorana Mihajlović, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Ms Irena Vujović, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, responsible for Trade Affairs, Mr. Stevan Nikcević, as well as with the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President of Serbia, Ms Tatjana Jović.
In his meetings, the Deputy Minister referred to the strong business presence of Greece in Serbia, where the Greek business community has invested about 2.5 billion Euros and has created 25,000 jobs so far. In this context, there was discussion on the prospects for further cooperation in the fields of construction and building materials, agri-food products, health and bio-sciences, but also in the fields of high technology and the interconnectivity of energy and road networks, as a key factor for the economic growth of the countries in the wider region. It was also agreed to examine the possibility of carrying out targeted business missions and the exchange of know-how in specific fields.