TRADE GROWS – ECONOMIES COME BETTER: Cooperation between Belgium and Serbia

OUR office represents the “eyes and ears” of Belgian companies interested in Serbia because we represent all three Belgian regional agencies specializing in export promotion.

Although we are the official representative of the Brussels Agency for Business Support, we also represent the Walloon Agency for Export Promotion – AWEX and Flanders Investment and Trade.

Belgium is a relatively small market, and the three Belgian regions are facilitating the efforts of their companies that want to internationalize, creating a common network of contact points around the world. Despite its size, Belgium has developed an open, highly competitive and internationally oriented economy. Its exports amount to more than 80 percent of the national GDP, and according to the latest data from the World Trade Organization, Belgium is the tenth largest exporter in the world.

We are very pleased that in recent years we have witnessed a positive trend in the volume of exchange between Belgium and Serbia. Of course, there is always room for further progress. Belgium is a leader in many industries, and there are many areas where cooperation can be improved, from environmental protection, water treatment, waste management, renewable energy, to areas such as IT, construction, smart city solutions, food industries, innovation in different sectors. All these areas of activity provide an excellent basis for further cooperation, as well as for the transfer of technology and knowledge.

Our main goal is to bring the business communities of the two countries closer, and every year we organize events that help Belgian companies learn more about Serbia as a business destination. Together with our local partners such as PKS, Belgian-Serbian Business Association, RAS and others, we organize various events: visits of business delegations, B2B meetings, presentations, seminars and conferences … Of course, in a situation where the Kovid-19 pandemic continues, we take advantage of digitization and organize numerous online events.

This year we organized very successful virtual B2B meetings in sectors such as food and pharmacy, we had for the first time online participation of the Brussels Regional Informatics Center (BRIC) at this year’s SmartCity festival, and we managed to organize with the help of the Serbian Horticultural Association arrival of five Belgian horticultural companies that visited potential Serbian partners-distributors.