“Over the next three years, we can fundamentally change the economy of Serbia, making it more competitive than many European economies,” assessed Marko Čadež, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) today.
Despite significant geopolitical challenges, domestic companies successfully concluded the year 2023, and it is crucial for economic growth to continue in 2024, added the President of the PKS.
Čadež, appearing on Radio-television of Serbia (RTS), stated that the Serbian economy is experiencing significant growth in the export of services, especially in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and that the country is gradually transitioning from an economy based on the production of low-tech components and products to a knowledge-based economy.
“Software is our largest export product, surpassing any agricultural product we export,” he noted, adding that in recent years, the growth in the ICT sector has been around 30 percent.
Summing up the year 2023, he highlighted the implementation or initiation of a large number of investments. He also pointed out that negotiations are ongoing for more than 90 domestic and foreign investment projects, which are expected to create around 19,500 new jobs.
Čadež expects significant continued growth in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, construction and infrastructure, as well as tourism. He emphasized that the “Expo 2027” project will be an additional driver for the entire economy, similar to how the organization of the international wine fair, Wine Vision by Open Balkan, in Belgrade contributed to the promotion of domestic and regional tourism.
Discussing the prospects of economic growth globally and in our country in 2024, he mentioned limiting factors and risks, such as geopolitical instability worldwide caused by wars. However, he also noted a moderate optimism in overcoming these issues, particularly in the relations between major powers, the United States and China.
When it comes to regional challenges, Čadež mentioned the ongoing inability of the EU to determine how it envisions the Union in the decades ahead, how to respond to current global and regional events, and how to integrate the region into a single market.
In the creation of a unified regional market through various initiatives, such as the Open Balkans initiative, Čadež sees the answer to how all economies can become more capable, resilient, and larger together, with the goal of making companies from the region competitive in the global market.
He emphasized the significance of the signed Free Trade Agreement with China for our country and pointed out that Serbia has been presiding over the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) since January 1 of this year. He mentioned the need for further improvement in the functioning of CEFTA.
