WE’VE ADAPTED TO THE CHALLENGES

So far, our webinars have been implemented in cooperation with membercompanies, but as of September 2020, we will provide new insights about the situation in the region and in Switzerland as well, in cooperation with S-GE and Swiss bilateral chambers from the region

WWe’re trying to extract the maximum benefit out of the existing situation, i.e. to minimise the negative consequences of COVID-19 on our members, says Ana Grujović, Executive Director of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC). Like all other organisations, since the outbreak of the pandemic the SSCC has respected the prescribed rules of safe behaviour, with the aim of ensuring the protection of health. Many members have switched to the mode of remote working, while most SSCC activities take place via applications for webinars, online communication and video conferencing.

“One of the first measures taken, immediately upon the declaring of the state of emergency, relates to the joint initiative of 12 bilateral foreign chambers of commerce and organisations in Serbia, including amongst them the SSCC, in the form of sending an open request to Finance Minister Siniša Mali for the implementation of additional support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises,” says Grujović.

In addition to this, the chamber took on the role of an info-centre in order to inform the business community in a timely manner about regulations adopted during the pandemic, economic measures to support the economy, as well as all current information relevant to the conducting of business activities.

How have you been able to help Swiss companies that are newcomers to this market, such as Regent Lighting, which only recently started operating in Svilajnac? - The latest Swiss investment in Serbia relates to company Regent Lighting, based in Basel, which is engaged in the production of electric lighting. The investment is worth approximately 10 million euros, and the symbolic laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the factory in Svilajnac was carried out in June this year.

With regard to the advisory function of the chamber, the SSCC has a signed cooperation agreement with SwitzerlandGlobal Enterprise (S-GE), the Swiss organisation for the promotion of investments and exports, within the scope

of which we’re obliged to provide free initial consulting for Swiss companies showing an interest in the Serbian market.

You’ve announced that the results of a survey on the con sequences of COVID-19 for Swiss companies operating in Serbia will be revealed in September. Can you nonetheless tell us what kinds of issues members most often asked for your assistance with? - Yes, the survey is planned for the second half of the year, in order for us to gain better insight into the impact of COVID-19 on the operations of our member companies. Most of the inquiries we received were related to economic measures for supporting the economy, ways of ensuring the protec tion of the health of workers at work, as well as conditions for travel between Switzerland and Serbia.

What are the most important topics of the webinars you organise and for whom are they intended? - Our webinars are realised in cooperation with member companies, such as the Cyber-security webinar in coop eration with company Sky Express, aimed at providing additional support to members in ensuring safe work from home. Then there is the series of HR webinars in cooperation with company Adecco, as well as webinars on digital business, in cooperation with agency Smart Point. In addition to this, we organised more detailed explanations of economic measures to support the economy thanks to the active participation of member companies TSG Law Office and Confida Consulting.

For the second half of the year, we will provide mem bers with insight into the situation in the region, thanks to cooperation with bilateral Swiss chambers from the region. Furthermore, it is also my great pleasure to an nounce a webinar that we plan to realise together with Switzerland Global Enterprise in September 2020, which will provide us with additional insight into the situation on the Swiss market.

To what extent can SSCC plans for 2020 that were made prior to the outbreak of the pandemic be adjusted to the conditions of online activity, and which objectives will have to wait for better times? - We’re trying, of course, to extract the maximum benefit out of the existing situation, i.e. to minimise the negative

consequences of COVID-19 on our members. At our General Assembly in February 2020, we announced a focus We will continue striving - with fresh information, webinars with that, it is to be expected that the volume of business travel will be reduced, especially considering the on HR topics this year, and we are very and individual support, - to existing travel restrictions. The reac happy that we have maintained and implemented this direction of action make it easier for members tions of governments to the unfolding situation continue to change, thus in the form of webinars. to re-organize their business our recommendation is to frequently We introduced, for the first time this year, the electronic publication “Mem operations in the best check the news and publicly available links to government websites, in order ber2Member”, in cooperation with the possible way, but also to get the latest information. Belgian Business Association in Serbia and the Hellenic Business Association. In this way, members are provided with to learn from their peers from Switzerland How much room has there been in the previous period for cooperation and the opportunity to additionally promote exchanges of experience on organis products and services, and to do so within the scope of ing work between Swiss chambers around the world? What the wider business community. Likewise, members of the is the most important lesson when it comes to maintain Board of Directors and the office itself remain available for ing active communication with members? all questions and consultations over the phone or through - Our strategic plan for this year implies liaising with Swiss online communications. bilateral chambers in the region. In accordance with that,

Of course, the part of activities related to physical gath in cooperation with the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber, we are erings of members or visits to member companies will be preparing joint activities for the second half of the year, realised again once adequate conditions have been created while we are working intensively on also connecting with to ensure health protection and health safety. the other chambers in the region. In addition to this, we have offered our member compa Flights between Switzerland and Serbia were reintro nies additional online media visibility through the project duced recently. Do you expect there to be more physical “SSCC success stories”, in the form of interviews to be contact between businesspeople in the period ahead, or published on the business portal and the SSCC website. are they reserved only for exceptional cases? The first interview was published with Mr Mićović, SSCC - We are witnessing that conditions of travel are changing president and Sky Express CEO. I’m glad that the mentioned on an almost daily basis and that, as a result of the Coro project has attracted great interest among members, and navirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its health consequences, all interviews published to date can be found on the official changes to travel plans are often being made. In accordance SSCC website.