The delegation of AP Vojvodina, led by the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Vojvodina, Igor Mirovic, presented the investment and economic potentials of the AP Vojvodina on Thursday, 17 January 2019, at the Central Chamber of Commerce of Paris, at a forum that brought together more than 50 businessmen from France.
On that occasion, Mirovic said that the aim of the delegation of the Provincial Government, during a working visit to France, to introduce French businessmen with our potentials and motivate them to do business in Serbia and Vojvodina.
“This meeting was jointly organized by the Chambers of Commerce of Vojvodina and Paris, with the support of the Department of Val Doaz, and I am sure that from this visit and the introduction of French businessmen with our economic potentials, we will have concrete results in the future,” said Mirović.
Pointing out that France is eighth in terms of foreign direct investments in Serbia, Mirović said that there is plenty of room for progress and cooperation in the field.
“We have also presented to numerous interested businessmen the incentives that the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Provincial Government provide to investors, and I am sure that this is the best invitation to invest in our market,” he said.
Speaking on the topic of “Serbia – the backbone of the Balkans at the crossroads of foreign influences”, in Kruzok Puskin, the French-Russian Association in Paris, President Mirović emphasized the importance of traditionally good and friendly relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of France whose fates, especially in the heroic days of the First of the World War, closely intertwined and invited French investors to invest in Serbia because, as he said, Serbia is a safe and attractive place to invest.
“The value of the goods exchange between our two countries is around an billion euros annually, and I sincerely hope that it will be significantly higher in time to come. France is one of the most important investors in Serbia, but I believe that there is plenty of room for improvement, given the strength of your economy, the excellent conditions that Serbia offers and, finally, our friendly relations, “said Mirović.
In his address, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, Boško Vučurević, in the Central Chamber of Commerce of Paris, pointed out that France is a traditional and indispensable partner of the Republic of Serbia in international economic cooperation and added that the dominant form of economic cooperation between the two countries is trade.
“What we can conclude is that the total trade between Serbia and France, and also the AP of Vojvodina and France, has a tendency of constant growth. During the eleven months of 2018, the export of AP Vojvodina to France was worth about 150 million euros, representing 84.8 percent of exports last year, while imports amounted to almost 165 million euros and thus exceeded almost 11 percent of the value of imports last year. In the observed period of 2018, the export of AP Vojvodina to France represented nearly 35 percent of the country’s exports to the country, while imports of Vojvodina from France make almost 30 imports of RS from France, “Vucurevic said.
In the Provincial Government delegation, the director of the Development Agency of Vojvodina, Nikola Žeželj, also pointed out that emphasis on the economic potential of Vojvodina in France was emphasized on the processing of food and the processing industry.
