The opening of the CDP office in Belgrade represents a very important step on the road to the further strengthening of economic and business relations between Serbia and Italy and a confirmation of joint dedication to sustainable economic growth. We are proud that Banca Intesa is CDP’s partner in this significant endeavor.
Banca Intesa is a long-time market leader in Serbia and a systemically important bank that provides strong support for the local economy and households and offers innovative products and services to its customers. Banca Intesa – with the leadership and coordination of Intesa Sanpaolo’s International Subsidiary Banks Division, led by Marco Elio Rottigni – has a significant role in the strengthening of economic and business ties between Serbia and Italy, offering Serbian businesses benefit from unmatched access to the Italian market and linking economies and encouraging cooperation between companies on the two markets.
Italy is among Serbia’s top trade partners and foreign investors in our country, with over 1,300 Italian companies and entrepreneurs in Serbia directly employing over 34,000 people. At the same time, Italy has established a strong platform of business associations including Confindustria Serbia, Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Italian Trade Agency, Simest and SACE, who are now accompanied by CDP as well in a move that has completed the network of institutional support for Italian companies operating in Serbia. I am confident that the fact that Simest and CDP offices are located in Banca Intesa headquarters will additionally fortify the cooperation and synergy with the bank and our parent Group.
With Italy, we share a joint vision of an advanced and sustainable Serbian economy that has found a new expression in the credit line signed with CDP, the first in a series planned as part of our partnership. Together with arrangements with other supranational institutions, this line will further boost our capacity to support green initiatives of SMEs as the engine of economic growth and employment, in line with our commitment to ESG principles and the strategic focus of our parent Group, as evidenced by over 210 million Euro in ESG loans we disbursed in 2023.
With financial institutions and joint action seen as key to advancing green transformation and decarbonisation, I believe that our partnership with CDP will contribute to creating a competitive, resilient and sustainable economy in Serbia and encourage further bolstering of overall economic cooperation of our two countries.