The Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, Goran Bradić, attended the event on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce for Central Europe in Zurich (Chamber of Commerce Switzerland - Central Europe / SEC), as well as the establishment of their subsidiary in Romandie, i.e. the francophone part of Switzerland, which was held in the premises of the Geneva Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Chambre de commerce, d`industrie et des services de Geneve / CCIG).
On that occasion, Ambassador Bradić addressed the gathered entrepreneurs, directors of consulting agencies, and owners of law offices in the Canton of Geneva, as well as diplomatic representatives from Bern, and SEC President Oliver Berčinger and CCIG General Director Vincent Subilija presented to the guests the associations they lead.
The Ambassador of Serbia, in his address, conveyed his evaluations and experiences of cooperation with Switzerland, primarily in the field of economy, but also in other fields. On that occasion, he pointed out that Serbia occupies a central position in the Balkan region, just as Switzerland is in the geographical center of Europe, that both countries are militarily neutral and are not members of the EU, and that at the same time, we are all faced with more or less the same consequences of the current geopolitical and economic challenges. Pointing out that Serbia's strategic foreign policy goal is full membership in the EU, that in this context the necessary reforms have been implemented for years, and that the country has achieved significant success in the field of attracting foreign investments, rebuilding and building infrastructure, digitization and in other areas, Bradić particularly apostrophized projects that are being implemented and plans whose realization is ahead, such as the Bio4 campus and the specialized international exhibition EXPO 2027.
He pointed out that Switzerland is one of the six leading foreign investors in Serbia, and that it is in the fourth position - when it comes to the export of services by Serbian companies, after the USA, Germany, and the UK, and that bilateral economic exchange has recorded constant growth in the last few years. He thanked Switzerland for its involvement in the construction of two of the four existing NTPs in Serbia, recalling that our country and the World Economic Forum (WEF), whose headquarters are in Geneva, established the Center for the 4th Industrial Revolution in Belgrade a little more than two years ago. , as well as part of the CERN data is stored in the State Data Center in Kragujevac.
Ambassador Bradić stated that in the last two years, Serbia has had almost nine billion euros in direct foreign investments, which represents slightly more than 60% of total foreign investments in the Balkans, and that the British portal "FDI Intelligence" in its report at the beginning of this year ranked several of its cities among the best investment destinations in Europe. He emphasized that Serbia has concluded free trade agreements with large and important markets in the world - starting with the EU, EFTA and CEFTA, through the EAEU and Turkey, and ending with China and Egypt, as well as that such agreements are being worked on with several other countries. Serbia is a politically, economically, and financially stable country, whose good financial rating BB+ has been confirmed by renowned foreign rating agencies, the country's public debt is around 52% of its GDP, which has not been achieved by all EU members, while the country records above-average economic growth compared to the region, but also the EU, underlined Bradić and called on Swiss businessmen to take advantage of the opportunity to conclude new deals within the implementation of planned projects.
Guests of the event, at the cocktail party that followed, could taste Serbian wines donated by the Embassy for the occasion.