Serbia hosted the Biotech Future Forum 2025 in Belgrade, gathering leading global and domestic experts to discuss how biotechnology and artificial intelligence can improve health, innovation, and the quality of life.
At the forum’s closing, Minister of Science Bela Balint said that “science is most powerful when it serves life,” emphasizing Serbia’s growing reputation as a country that actively follows global technological trends and contributes to new advancements in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. He announced that the Bio4 Campus, a major national center uniting biomedicine, biotechnology, and biodiversity, is expected to be completed by mid or late next year.
Balint noted that representatives from more than 30 countries participated in the forum, sharing their knowledge to promote innovation and sustainable technological development. Nobel Prize winner Robert Huber and American geneticist Craig Venter, one of the pioneers of human genome sequencing, were among the keynote speakers.
Opening the conference, Prime Minister Đuro Macut said that Serbia is becoming a regional center for biotechnology and digital innovation, investing heavily in research, infrastructure, and education. He highlighted the establishment of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the country’s focus on building a strong bioeconomy based on infrastructure, partnerships, and education.
Macut pointed out that Serbia’s new Bio4 Campus will bring together over 5,000 students and 1,000 PhD researchers, allowing collaboration with leading global companies on next-generation medicines. He added that Serbia is advancing digital healthcare through the law on electronic medical records and the national genetic data registry, aligning with global trends in personalized medicine.
Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment Mihailo Jovanović noted that Serbia’s ICT exports reached €4.1 billion in 2024, up 20% from the previous year, with further growth continuing in 2025. He said Serbia aims to strengthen its position as a regional leader in digital transformation, with AI and biotechnology at the core of its innovation strategy.
State Secretary Marija Gnjatović emphasized the need for stronger cooperation between academia and the private sector from the earliest stages of innovation. She stressed that researchers must better understand market needs and that collaboration with industry is essential for faster technology transfer and practical application of scientific results.
The Biotech Future Forum 2025, organized by the Government of Serbia in cooperation with the World Economic Forum, UNDP, and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, focused on the theme “AI for Life”, exploring how artificial intelligence and biotechnology together shape the future of healthcare, innovation, and sustainable development.
