Serbia’s economic relationship with Italy has moved into a new phase after bilateral goods trade reached a historic high of €5 billion in 2025, confirming Italy’s position as one of Serbia’s most important commercial, industrial and investment partners. The figure is more than a statistical milestone. It shows that the Serbia–Italy corridor has become one of the deepest trade channels connecting the Western Balkans with the European Union’s industrial core.
The message was underlined in Belgrade during a business gathering at the residence of the Italian ambassador, attended by Serbia’s Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade and EXPO 2027 Belgrade commissioner Jagoda Lazarević, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, and representatives of the Italian business community in Serbia.
According to Lazarević, Serbia is Italy’s largest foreign-trade partner in the Western Balkans, with trade with Serbia accounting for 42% of Italy’s total goods exchange with the region. That figure gives the relationship a strategic weight beyond bilateral diplomacy. For Italian companies, Serbia is not only a neighbouring production and sales market; it is increasingly a regional base for supply chains, services, infrastructure, energy transition and export-oriented manufacturing. For Serbia, Italy remains one of the most important EU anchors for investment, technology transfer and access to Western European industrial networks.
The record €5 billion trade volume comes at a time when Serbia is trying to position itself as a more competitive production and logistics platform between the EU, the Western Balkans, Turkey, the Middle East and China-linked supply routes. Italy’s role in that positioning is particularly important because Italian companies have long been present in Serbian manufacturing, textiles, automotive components, banking, insurance, agribusiness, construction materials and machinery. The relationship has gradually moved from classic import-export trade toward a broader investment ecosystem.
That shift is visible in the sectors highlighted by the Serbian government. Cooperation is no longer framed only through traditional manufacturing and consumer goods. It now increasingly includes new technologies, services and energy transition, areas where Italy has strong industrial depth and where Serbia needs capital, know-how and market access. The energy transition angle is especially relevant as Serbian industry faces rising pressure to improve efficiency, decarbonise production and align with EU-linked carbon and sustainability standards.
For Italian investors, Serbia offers a mix of advantages: geographic proximity, established transport links, competitive labour costs, industrial zones, trade access and an increasingly important role in regional supply chains. For Serbian companies, Italy remains one of the most practical EU markets because of its large SME base, demand for intermediate goods, industrial subcontracting culture and long tradition of commercial cooperation with the Balkans.
The timing is also politically useful for Belgrade. Serbia wants EXPO 2027 to function not only as a global exhibition but as a platform for business diplomacy, infrastructure promotion and investment matchmaking. Italy’s confirmed and highly visible participation gives the event additional credibility. A country with Italy’s industrial reputation, tourism brand, cultural influence and experience from hosting EXPO 2015 Milan can help turn Belgrade’s exhibition into a stronger business-facing event rather than a purely symbolic showcase.
Italy is expected to use its pavilion at EXPO 2027 Belgrade to present its economy, innovation capacity, culture, music, sport and business community. That creates an opportunity for Serbian and Italian companies to deepen cooperation in sectors where Serbia wants to climb the value chain. These include logistics, food processing, industrial design, infrastructure, renewable energy, digital services, hospitality, construction, transport technologies and specialised manufacturing.
For Serbia, the key question is whether the record trade figure can be converted into more productive investment. A high trade volume is positive, but the stronger economic story lies in industrial integration: more Italian suppliers operating in Serbia, more Serbian companies entering Italian supply chains, more joint ventures, more technology partnerships and more export contracts linked to EU standards. That is where the relationship can move from trade growth to structural competitiveness.
The Italian business community already has a meaningful base in Serbia, but the next phase will likely depend on three factors. The first is infrastructure. Better rail, road, port and intermodal connections would reduce logistics costs and improve Serbia’s role as a manufacturing and distribution platform. The second is energy. Industrial investors increasingly evaluate electricity reliability, renewable sourcing options and carbon exposure before committing capital. The third is regulatory predictability. EU-linked investors need stable rules, efficient permitting and clear enforcement, especially in sectors such as energy, construction, food, logistics and financial services.
The presence of Matteo Salvini, whose portfolio covers infrastructure and transport, gives the meeting an additional layer. Serbia and Italy are not only discussing trade flows; they are also looking at the physical corridors that allow those flows to expand. Transport links with northern Italy, Adriatic ports and Central European logistics hubs will become increasingly important if Serbia wants to strengthen its role in regional supply chains. For Italian exporters and investors, reliable transport capacity is directly tied to competitiveness.
The €5 billion trade record also comes at a time when European companies are reassessing supply chains after years of disruption caused by the pandemic, energy shocks, geopolitical tensions and the restructuring of global trade. Serbia can benefit from this nearshoring trend, but only if it offers more than low-cost production. The more durable opportunity is to become a reliable, standards-aligned, energy-secure and logistically connected production base for EU companies seeking flexibility outside the eurozone but close to the single market.
Italy is a natural partner in that process. Its economy is built around industrial districts, medium-sized exporters, machinery producers, fashion and design companies, food processors, construction firms and technology suppliers. Many of these companies understand the logic of regional production networks and subcontracting partnerships. Serbia’s challenge is to move higher within those networks, capturing more value through engineering, components, services, logistics and specialised production rather than remaining a low-margin assembly location.
EXPO 2027 can help if it is used as a business platform rather than only as an event. The strongest outcome would be a structured pipeline of Serbian-Italian investment projects before, during and after the exhibition. That could include supplier-development programmes, industrial-zone partnerships, renewable-energy offtake arrangements, tourism and hospitality investments, logistics platforms, agri-food export initiatives and technology cooperation between Serbian firms and Italian SMEs.
The record trade figure therefore should not be read as the end point of the Serbia–Italy relationship. It is better understood as a new baseline. At €5 billion, the corridor is already large enough to justify deeper institutional support, more sector-specific business forums and targeted investment facilitation. The 42% share of Italy’s Western Balkan goods exchange gives Serbia a privileged position, but it also raises expectations. Maintaining that position will require stronger productivity, better infrastructure, higher standards and more export-ready Serbian companies.
For Belgrade, the political value is clear. Stronger economic ties with Italy support Serbia’s EU-facing business narrative at a time when investors are looking beyond headline growth figures and asking harder questions about institutional quality, energy security and regulatory alignment. For Rome, Serbia offers a strategically located partner in a region where Italian business already has influence and where infrastructure, energy and industrial demand remain significant.
The next stage of the relationship will be measured less by diplomatic statements and more by the quality of investment that follows. The €5 billion trade maximum confirms that the commercial base is already strong. The real test is whether Serbia and Italy can turn that base into a deeper industrial partnership built around technology, energy transition, infrastructure and export competitiveness ahead of EXPO 2027 Belgrade.
