In cooperation with Color Media Communications, the J’aime la France association held an important online conference called “Meeting with the ambassadors of the French-speaking countries in Serbia: The potential for tourism and economic cooperation in the new normal”, which was held on 19th May 2021.
The conference participants agreed that joint effort and activities could boost cooperation between the French-speaking countries and Serbia, and this conference was a good example of how bilateral relations between Serbia and the countries, which ambassadors took part in the conference, could improve.
The conference participants were first greeted by the Ambassador of Egypt to Serbia, H.E. Amr Aljowaily, who is also the chairman of the group of Francophone ambassadors to Serbia, who said the following on the occasion: “There are several activities relating to institutional cooperation with Serbia. I would like to mention the recent visit of Francophone ambassadors to Vojvodina, where several projects were agreed upon between our countries and the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia. This is a concrete example of how ties between the two countries could be further solidified. We also expect that, after our meeting today, we will create new opportunities for strengthening ties and investments between Serbia and Egypt. ”
The French Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Jean-Louis Falconi, pointed out that his biggest task was to try to attract Serbian tourists to come to France and vice versa because tourism has the greatest potential for boosting cooperation between the two countries.
“There is great potential and economic interests for cooperation. Serbia is an agricultural country, and I will single out its wine-making on this occasion. Just like France, Serbia is also a wine-making country and currently home to a large number of wine producers who need to be represented. They should be connected with their peers from large vine-growing regions in France. I am glad to see a number of my fellow ambassadors here and I believe that together we will succeed in establishing good cooperation in tourism. Also, I would like to continue supporting you in developing good bilateral relations between our countries,” Mr Falconi told the conference organizer, Sladjana Novaković.
Sladjana Novaković, president of the J’aime la France association, pointed out on the occasion that, after a 27-year break, and in partnership with representatives of the public, private and civil sectors from the Republic of Serbia and Republic of France, the executive and administrative authorities of the Republic of Serbia and representatives of the French diplomatic mission, strong cooperation in tourism between our two countries has been re-established. The conference was also attended by H.E. Tan Vutha, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Serbia, Youssef EL KARNI, Counselor for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Serbia, H.E. Rafala Perla, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Serbia, Dariusz Szewczyk, Consul at the Polish Embassy in Serbia, Philippe Magne, Director of Development at Vichy Spa Internationale and an independent consultant, Dr Christian Hristea, consultant at Brancusa Association from Romania, director and editor-in-chief of the Amphitheatre Foundation, editor-in-chief of Vacation and Travel magazine and Stephane Monnier, President of Sun Assets Holding.
Thanks to their cooperation with J’aime la France and Sladjana Novaković on various projects, they have recognised the Serbian market as a serious business partner for the future. During the last three years, owing to its research and perseverance, the J’aime la France association has implemented several international projects that have re-launched cooperation between France and Serbia in economy, tourism and multiculturalism and which contributed to boosting bilateral relations between our countries.
The goal of each project was to facilitate the largest possible presence of France in the Serbian market, which is part of J’aime la France’s strategy. The French Embassy in Serbia have been supporting and actively participating in these projects.