Swiss-Serbian economic ties strengthening

BELGRADE - Swiss-Serbian bilateral and economic cooperation has been successful for many years, and the two countries will work towards strengthening those ties further in the time that lies ahead, the participants of a conference on Swiss-Serbian bilateral relations said on Thursday.

"Our priority is to boost the number of Swiss companies that are present in our country, and, in particular, investors who invest in export-oriented production," said Stevan Nikcevic, state secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications.

Around 1,500 Swiss companies operate in Serbia, and the Swiss economy is one of the most competitive economies in the world, he said.

Swiss Ambassador to Serbia Jean-Daniel Ruch said that the volume of trade between the two countries, which has been on an increase over the past two years, totals around CHF 100 million.

In the past ten years, Swiss companies have invested significant funds in Serbia, he said.

The ambassador also said that Switzerland earmarked around EUR 6 million for post-flood recovery in Serbia in the wake of the May deluge.

Serbian Assistant Minister of Economy Jelena Spasic said that the current Serbian government has done much to improve the business climate, and that some reform laws have been adopted and the flexibility of the labour market improved.

She said that Serbia's export-to-import ratio with Switzerland has been improving recently and that she hopes that the level of economic cooperation between the two countries will be even better in the years to come.

Thursday's conference was organised by the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, established in March 2014 as a result of great interest in the Swiss...