The Board of Directors of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) appointed Frank Aletter to the position of Director and Executive Member of the Board of Directors of AHK Serbia commencing on February 1, 2021. Frank Aletter has succeeded the previous director of AHK Serbia, Martin Knapp, who has been in this function for 5 years, i.e. since the official founding of the Chamber. German investors, represented by the then Delegation of the German Businesses in Serbia and the German-Serbian Business Association, today called AHK Serbia, are celebrating 20 years of operations in Serbia this year.
Frank Aletter has over ten years of experience in various positions in the German chambers of commerce and industry system that has 140 offices in 92 countries worldwide. Prior to taking office in Serbia, Frank Aletter had been the Deputy Director of the South African-German Chamber of Commerce (AHK South Africa) since 2008, focusing on business development and advising German and European companies about the opportunities and strategies regarding entering the South African market. In his career, Mr Aletter was also the Deputy Director of the Dutch-German Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Head of the Coordination Sector of the AHK Representation Abroad at the German Chamber of Commerce based in Berlin. He holds a master’s degree in law from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, specializing in commercial law.
“I am very pleased to be able to start a new phase in my professional career in Serbia, where the representation of the German Foreign Trade and Industry Chambers (AHK) is celebrating 20 years of operations this year, while our chamber celebrates 5 years since its official founding “, said the newly appointed director of AHK Serbia, Frank Aletter, adding: “Our long tradition and sustainable business make us a stable partner of Serbia, which has always been and will be focusing on improving bilateral economic relations between Serbia and Germany. I am pleased to have the opportunity to transfer the know-how and experience I gained in previous positions and contribute to the Chamber’s future work and activities which will be primarily aimed at advisory and institutional support, close cooperation with partner organizations such as the German Embassy in Serbia, the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, bilateral chambers in Serbia, German foundations and others, as well as holding a series of informational and networking events in order to better inform, educate and overcome barriers and difficulties in doing business caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Mr Aletter underlined. He also said that despite the consequences of the pandemic on the economy, the forecasts for this year are encouraging. The director of AHK Serbia went on to say that many companies are considering coming to Serbia as part of the strategy of securing suppliers in near destinations (the so-called nearshoring) instead of the Far East, and the Chamber will certainly support them through the project called German Initiative for Finding Suppliers in the Western Balkans which will be held for the seventh consecutive time this year.
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) belongs to the system of German foreign trade and industrial chambers that has 140 offices in 92 countries around the world. Since the founding of the then Delegation of the German Economy in Serbia and the German-Serbian Business Association in 2001, the Chamber has been providing numerous services to Serbian and German companies for the purpose of business mergers and competitive appearance on the domestic, German and international markets. AHK Serbia was officially founded on April 14, 2016. With over 350 member companies, AHK Serbia is the largest bilateral chamber of commerce in Serbia and an ideal platform for contacts between German, Serbian and international companies.