French companies' interest in Serbia doubles

BELGRADE - Interest among French companies in doing business in Serbia was up by over 100 percent in 2014 compared to 2013, the president of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce Patrick Collin has said after a meeting of Serbian government officials and members of the Chamber in Belgrade.

The meeting, held in the residence of French Ambassador to Belgrade Christine Moro on Tuesday, was attended by Serbian Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic, Minister of Economy Zeljko Sertic, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Marko Cadez and representatives of several French and Serbian companies.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Collin announced that representatives of French companies interested in becoming involved in projects to modernise railway transport in Serbia will be paying a visit to Belgrade on April 1-2.

The year 2014 was of first-rate significance for furthering the relations between our two countries, following the visits to Paris by the Serbian prime minister and president and the French prime minister's visit to Belgrade, he said.

In 2014, after the start of Serbia's EU accession talks and top-level bilateral visits, the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce received 100 percent more requests from French companies to produce studies on starting or developing businesses in Serbia compared to 2013, Collin noted.

The requests primarily pertained to agriculture, telecommunications, digital technology, construction and transport infrastructure, Collin said.

He said that bilateral trade grew by 11 percent in the same period, and expressed confidence that it will continue to do so.

Sertic said that the meeting addressed involvement of French companies in the...