INTERVIEW
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VERY POSITIVE TENDENCIES IN FOSTERING COOPERATION MIRJANA KOJIĆ
The Secretary General CCIS
Economic cooperation has always been a pillar of the relations between Italy and Serbia. Today trade and economic ties are further strengthened by the current Italian-Serbian strategic partnership agreement, whose tenth anniversary was marked last year What did the study generally show when it comes to the Italian economy in Serbia?
n November, a study entitled “Italian companies in Serbia. A success story” https://www.ccis.rs/sr/istrazivanje-komore-italijansko-srpskih-privrednika-i-ambasade-italije-nastavlja-se-rast-italijanskih-kompanija-u-srbiji, issued thanks to the selfless engagement of Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Embassy, was presented. The idea of making a “review” of the Italian companies emerged from the need to recognize and record their contribution to the development of the Serbian and Italian economies. Overall, the collected data indicate very positive tendencies, with Italy in the first ranks of the Serbian economy and a significant share in investments and employment in Serbia. In fact, there are more than 1600 Italian companies or companies with Italian shareholdings currently registered in Serbia and employing over 50,000 workers. From the last research has emerged that as much as 5.4% of Serbia’s GDP was generated by these businesses, said Mirjana Kojić, The Secretary General CCIS
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ITALY 2021
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The results of the research shed light on several promising factors concerning the Serbian economy. In the first place, Italian companies are equally present in Serbia, but different in size and structure, activities, and geographical location. The main grouping by business sector shows that the largest concentration of the production of components for the automotive industry is located in Kragujevac, of the textile industry in Niš and Vojvodina, of packaging in the Šumadija district, and ICT in Novi Sad.
ITALIANS ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEIR ORIGIN, THEY EVEN EMPHASIZE THAT MUCH MORE THAN OTHER NATIONS In terms of size, SMEs are more numerous, but as regards the percentage of employment more than 70% of employees are employed in large companies. From the point of view of Italian companies, Serbia is becoming a new growing market, rich in resources in
the field of technology and services with the greatest added value. If the data presented so far are not yet sufficient to prove the strong link between Italy and Serbia and the vast Italian presence in the country, in conclusion, we would like to present the data regarding the growth in the number of Italian companies in the last 7 years. As a matter of fact, since 2014 about 250 new Italian companies have been registered on Serbian territory. How can cooperation be improved, and in which branches of the economy can we expect more Italian companies? There is definitely room for improving the cooperation and activities of our Chamber. What should be further improved is the legal certainty and the rule of law. Features such as efficient courts and public administration, predictability of taxes and other levies, equal treatment before the law and in public procurement, transparency, resolved property relations, planning documents, etc., would provide legal security for investments. As the pandemic is currently receding, we sincerely hope that a noticeable increase in the interest of Italian companies in the field of internationalization and commercial expansion towards Serbia will occur. Consistently, we hope that the level of new investments and production will also
