We are leaders in key areas like the financial and insurance sectors, as well as automotive production and textiles
Just a look at the statistics is enough to understand how excellent economic cooperation is between Italy and Serbia. All the data in recent years are extremely positive: commercial exchange (€3.7 billion in 2016), number of Italian companies in Serbia (over 600), Italy’s constant positioning among the top foreign investor nations.
How do you asses overall economic cooperation between our two countries?
― Our historic presence in Serbia is strong and concrete. We are leaders in key areas like the financial and insurance sectors, as well as automotive production and textiles. When you walk around the towns and cities of Serbia, you can see Italian brands, Italian restaurants and shops with Italian products everywhere. I myself arrived in Belgrade some time ago, on an evening flight, and found myself crossing a city full of neon signs on skyscrapers with inscriptions written in Italian. I thought I had made a mistake and arrived in Milan, but I was in New Belgrade and the writings I saw werethose of Italian companies that have been present in the country for many years. In short, Italy is very present in Serbia … and you can see it!
How we can further develop these relations?
― Serbian institutions and citizens perceive their collaboration with our companies positively. Italy has capital in its “good reputation”, as Italian companies have set the benchmark in areas of strategic importance (food and agriculture, industrial machinery, manufacturing) and they promote the transfer of knowhow to the benefit of Serbian managers and employees. These are usually SMEs who propose a development model that is well-suited to the reality locally. It is no coincidence that there are around 1,300companies with mixed Italian-Serbian capital. That is why we support opportunities for meetings between entrepreneurs, such as the Novi Sad Agriculture Trade Fair and the Belgrade Technology Fair. “Sistema Italia” – including firstly the Embassy and the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, ICE, then the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Confindustria Serbia – has excellent relations with Serbian companies and enterprises. Only by working together is it possible to develop effective common strategies.
To what extent have Serbian reforms influenced the flow of Italian investors coming to the country?
― I mentioned Italy’s historic presence first. Italian entrepreneurs were in fact among the first to come to Serbia, even when conditions in the country weren’t so simple. There is no doubt that the openness towards European capital shown by recent governments has served to further increase the influx of Italian entrepreneurs. Reforms in the employment sector, an excellent macroeconomic performance and incentives envisaged for direct investments have helped make Serbia’s image more business friendly, filling a gap that has been slowing steady growth for too long. I believe that the business community is now expecting a path that goes in the same direction, to ensure a climate that is ever more suitable for investments.
Where do Italian businesspeople see room for further improvement of the investment climate?
― The Italian business community is formed by pragmatic professionals with a strong desire to grow. The obstacles that are most often brought to our attention are of a bureaucratic nature. How do I get permission for this initiative? Which body is responsible for this control?… Increasing business services, ensuring the transparency of relations with the public administration, particularly in the taxation and judicial sectors, are activities that are welcomed by companies in a positive way. Serbia has launched important reforms in this sense, the appreciation of which by the business community will be further enhanced with a future consolidation phase.
What are the areas in which Italian businesspeople seek your support the most?
― A distinction needs to be made between operators who are already present in Serbia and those who intend to make an initial investment in the country. The latter are often seeking information on the features of the Serbian market and business climate in general. It is always a pleasure for the Embassy to provide information on the Serbian economy and issues like free zones in the main cities and trade agreements between Serbia and third countries. With the companies already present on the market, we seek instead to develop a solid partnership, so as to consolidate a network comprising public and private bodies, in support of Italian interests in Serbia. An example of this approach is the EU Funding Guide, published on the website of the Embassy of Italy and also distributed thanks to our partners.
After a 20-years-break, Serbia and Italy re-established scientific exchange in 2013. What were the major achievements in the last five years?
― Actually, in 2013 a new Bilateral Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement came into effect, which led to the implementation of 37 joint projects in areas such as energy, health and advanced technologies. The agreements signed between Universities and research centres, such as the one between the University of Belgradeand the largest Italian National Research Institute (National Research Council), are also of great importance and allow students and researchers from our two countries to undertake common research activities. Our collaboration is conducted together with the Association of Italian and Serbian Scientists and Scholars – AIS3, founded by the Embassy of Italy and the University of Belgrade in 2012. AIS3 today, with more than 500 individual Italian and Serbian members and institutions, represents the natural reference of our scientific communities.
What are your ambitions when it comes to the further development of scientific cooperation?
― The most important research funds are progressively moving from the national to the international level, and more specifically to EU projects. For this reason, all of our joint projects have been selected on the basis of their ability to become competitive for programmes, such as Horizon 2020. Our ambition for the future is actually to encourage the creation of competitive networks. An example of best practice is the Italian-Serbian Collaboration Platform in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (ISCP). The ISCP brings together major research centres, private companies and industry associations in a so-called “Intelligent Factory”. This is an extraordinary experience in Key Enabling Technologies – KETs, which are able to adapt to international standards and foster business-research partnerships.