Serbia and India Strengthening Ties
Serbia is the leading investment destination in South-East Europe. The majority of the FDI comes from EU member countries (Germany, Italy, Austria), but much of it also from Asia (China, Japan, South Korea) and increasingly from the United States. In its Serbia 2023 Investment Climate Statement, Bureau of Economic and Business affairs of the US State Department talk about “the country’s strategic location, well-educated and English-speaking labor force, competitive labor costs, generous investment incentives, and free-trade agreements with the EU and other key markets.” We have also had some major investments from India, notably in the real estate and tractor industry. However, we would like to see a lot more of it both from India and from Indians living abroad. One of the main goals of our current Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Marko Djuric, who is also a long-standing Vice-President of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, is to deepen overall economic cooperation and increase investments between Serbia and the United States. Our Embassy in Washington has been highly successful in that regard under Ambassador Djuric’s leadership during the past three years, but we feel that Indian American business leaders could help us to reach new heights.
Why would they choose Serbia over other similar destinations? In short, Serbia has been the fastest-growing economy in our region, but also among the top three in the whole of Europe, for the past several years. The public finances are very stable with the public debt to GDP ratio of around 53%, lower than most EU members. In 2020, for the fourth year in a row, IBM Global Location Trends report had recognized Serbia as the world leader in the number of FDI-related jobs created relative to its population. Two of the sectors that have increasingly been in the focus of foreign investors are ICT and biotechnology. ICT has become the number one Serbian exporting industry in recent years, growing three times since 2017. The sub sectors that have performed particularly well are Hi-Tech and R&D, Shared Services/BPO and Software Development. One of the reasons for this success is our educational system, whereby for example our elementary schools start compulsory coding classes as early as 5th grade and Serbian universities are the first in our part of the world to offer a gaming master's degree. When it comes to biotech, Serbia is in the process of implementing a new strategic project called BIO4 – a campus that will operate in the fields of biotechnology, biomedicine, bioinformatics and biodiversity. The campus will also encompass a startup hub, scientific institutes and universities. We are very keen to see foreign companies and academic and research institutions become involved in this project.
Indian President Droupadi Murmu @presidentofindia was given a warm welcome on arrival in Belgrade. This is the first visit by an Indian President to Serbia. As a special gesture, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić @buducnostsrbijeav received President Murmu at the airport. She was accorded a guard of honor on her arrival.
Another point to have in mind is that Belgrade won the bid to host the specialized international exhibition EXPO2027. As the Bureau International des Expositions states: “Due to its geostrategic location, Serbia is considered the meeting point of Eastern and Western civilizations. For this reason, besides easy access to the Western Balkan economies, and the broader Central and Southeast Europe, Serbia also reaches the Middle East, Africa, and Asia and has well-established ties in trade and cultural interactions with the region and beyond.” With the projected amount of investment in connection to the EXPO of up to 18 billion dollars in the next several years, this global mega event to be held in the Serbian capital in 2027 presents immense opportunities for companies from around the world, be it in ICT and biotech, or in trade, infrastructure, or hospitality.
On a more personal note, my family and I will have a life-long relationship with India and its people. India has given my wife and I two beautiful boys, both born in New Delhi while we were posted there. The first words they spoke were in Hindi! We tried to thank India through our involvement in different social initiatives while we were there.
And we keep in touch with old and make new Indian friends everywhere we go. Our new friends at Indiaspora were very kind to provide me with this opportunity to share some information about my country with their esteemed members. We will from our side also support Indiaspora whenever we can. In that context, Serbian Ambassadors to France and The Netherlands will attend the upcoming Indiaspora European inaugural events in Paris and The Hague. We will together continue to build on the historical friendship between our two countries and peoples. And Serbia will continue to be a close and loyal friend to India and Indians!
About the Author
Vladimir Maric, Deputy Ambassador of Serbia to the United States and Former Ambassador to India (2014-2020) is a career diplomat with 20 years of experience and the diplomatic rank of an Ambassador. At the capital, Maric held the positions of Assistant Foreign Minister for bilateral cooperation and Foreign Minister’s Chief of Staff. Besides being Serbian Ambassador to India, postings included Belgium (EU), Slovenia and Syria.
Contact: vladimir.maric@mfa.rs
