Serbia–United Arab Emirates relations

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced Serbia would on Monday complete the paperwork required to acquire Etihad Airways' stake in Air Serbia.

DUBAI - Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Monday Serbia had signed a strategic document with the UAE that marked the start of talks on a FTA between the two countries.

"Talks about a UAE-Serbia FTA have formally begun with the signing of this strategic document," said Momirovic, who signed the document on behalf of the Serbian government.

They spoke about "developing bilateral relations and opportunities for companies headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to invest in Serbia."

BELGRADE - The Serbian government intends to ask the Fund for the development of Abu Dhabi for a loan of about a 1 billion US dollars for budget support, with an interest rate of 2.25 percent per year.

The maturity period of the loan is 10 years, including a grace period of five years, while the repayment period is five years.

BELGRADE - Serbia has potential for investments in infrastructure, and investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are interested in this sector, officials of the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) executives said at a meeting in the Serbian government building on Wednesday.

After the Serbian government published the contract for the Belgrade Waterfront project on Sunday, the protest group "Let's not Drown Belgrade" said it showed Serbia was giving up its sovereignty because it had committed itself not to pass laws that conflict with the contract.

Bulgaria's flag carrier Bulgaria Air has signed a codeshare agreement with Air Serbia, the successor of JAT Airways.

Serbia's flag carrier, which is part of Etihad Airways, operates scheduled flights Sofia-Belgrade.

The agreement is a new type of partnership for the two airlines, according to a media statement of Bulgaria Air.

Air Serbia carrier marks first anniversary

BELGRADE -- The national airline Air Serbia marked on Saturday evening one year since its foundation.

The carrier now flies to over 39 destinations from the Nikola Tesla Airport offering passenger and freight transport services, said Tanjug.