Japanese investments in Serbia reached 200 million euros, of which more than half occurred in the past two years.
The foreign trade exchange between the two countries is growing despite the geographical distance and logistical challenges, and reached 400 million euros, it was pointed out at the opening of the Serbia-Japan business forum, which gathered representatives of more than 70 companies in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS).
“Japan is a stable investment and economic partner of Serbia, and there are great opportunities for cooperation in the sector of the food industry, new technologies, the production of electric vehicles and the development of IT services”, said Mihailo Vesović, Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization of PKS, and added that Serbian companies should take advantage of the opportunity and connect with Japanese partners who are leaders in economic and industrial development.
Japan is also one of the biggest donors in Serbia, and the two countries are celebrating 140 years of friendship this year.
“Many Japanese companies are interested in business development in Serbia, and I hope that this forum will be an opportunity to properly present the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries, companies to connect and cooperate in the future,” said the Ambassador of Japan to Serbia H.E. Takahiko Katsumata.
As Ambassador Katsumata emphasized, the Japanese government supports the development of economic relations with a series of initiatives, as well as regional cooperation with all Western Balkan companies.
The general director of the Japanese Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO) in Vienna, Tatsuo Kamino, said on that occasion that the cooperation between PKS and the Embassy of Japan in Serbia is exceptional and that it supports as many as 14 Japanese companies in Serbia.
According to the PKS, the economic delegation of Japan consists of 15 companies from the air transport, trade, services, information technology, metal, electrical and energy sectors.
The visit of this Japanese business delegation is realized in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan in Belgrade, the Japanese Foreign Trade Organization JETRO and the Development Agency of Serbia.
Bilateral talks between representatives of Serbian and Japanese companies were held within the forum.
Discussion was held on the concrete partnerships, and the representatives of the Japanese organization JETRO were received by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and discussed with them the current and new investments of that country, the strengthening of economic cooperation and the improvement of overall relations between Serbia and Japan.
President Vučić pointed out that Serbia is proud of the results achieved in strengthening bilateral economic ties, and expressed his satisfaction with the investments of Japanese companies in our country so far, the Service for Cooperation with the Media of the President of Serbia announced.