The French national holiday is celebrated on July 14, and this year, it is marked with the slogan “conquer the future”, which refers to the collective capacities of the French nation to overcome the difficulties related to the health crisis. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the French national holiday will be marked by a traditional reception at the residence of the French Ambassador, H.E. Jean-Louis Falconi with a limited number of guests, representatives of the French community.
Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and France draws strength from the 182-year-long history of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Also, French-Serbian economic relations continue to progress. The external trade between Serbia and France has more than doubled (to the value of € 417mn) since 2010, when the EU-Serbia Interim Trade Agreement entered into force, while the trade in 2019 (€ 1.1bn) and 2020 (€ 1.06bn) has remained stable despite an almost complete halt of the economy due to the first wave of Covid-19.
“Serbia is still very attractive for French investors, who especially appreciate the quality of the workfoce in the country. Currently, there are 120 French companies operating here that employ 12,000 people. Also, the construction of a new terminal at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade (operated by Vinci) is being successfully completed, while the landfill in Vinča has been transformed into an innovative waste processing centre thanks to Suez-Itoch and the opening of the first waste disposal plant,” said French Ambassador, H.E. Jean-Louis Falconi, adding “Long live France, long live Serbia and long live French-Serbian friendship.”
