The presidents of Turkey and Serbia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Aleksandar Vucic, assessed in Ankara that the cooperation between the two countries is excellent.
Erdogan said the volume of trade between the two countries “continues to break records”, despite the negative effects of the corona virus pandemic.
“Last year, with a growth of 34 percent, we increased the volume of trade to two billion dollars. Our goal is a level of five billion, we discussed joint steps in that direction,” the Turkish president said.
Erdogan said that he exchanged ideas with Vučić about joint projects that the two countries could implement.
“Today, more than 1,300 Turkish companies operate in Serbia, employing about 8,000 people. The total value of our investments in the last ten years has increased from one million to 250 million dollars. So far, our entrepreneurs in Serbia have realized and signed 45 projects, worth 823 million dollars,” he said.
The Turkish president thanked Vučić for the support he provides to Turkish entrepreneurs in Serbia and announced that his country will continue to provide all support to Serbian investors who want to invest in Turkey.
He pointed out that the number of trips and tourists is also increasing, and added that direct flights to Turkey from all three airports in Serbia will start this year, with the introduction of lines from Nis and Kraljevo to Istanbul.
Vučić said that the largest trade exchange between the two countries was realized in 2021, that it amounted to 1.55 billion euros from January to November, stating that the long-term goal is for it to reach five billion euros.
The President of Serbia pointed out that Turkey is growing as a foreign trade partner of Serbia and that it is now in tenth place, and that a year ago it was in 18th place.
“We talked about Turkish investors in Serbia, we found the best price for electricity for them. They cover smaller places, Lebane, Krupanj, Zitoradja, but also larger cities such as Nis and Leskovac,” Vučić said.
Vučić also pointed out the importance of connecting and building infrastructure and highways, stating that about 80 percent of the works on the bridge on the Sava, which is being built by a Turkish company, have been completed.
According to the Statistical Office of Serbia, trade between Serbia and Turkey increased by 37.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2021 and amounted to 1.4 billion dollars. Last year, the volume of exchange between the two countries amounted to a record 1.5 billion dollars.
About 110 Turkish companies operate in Serbia in the textile, automotive, construction and machinery sectors, banking and tourism. Turkey imports mostly textiles, products for the automotive and machinery industries, white goods, iron and steel, as well as fruits and vegetables, while Serbia exports rubber, tobacco, copper, plastics and machinery products.
Ten years ago, Turkey’s investments in Serbia amounted to about one million dollars, while in 2021, the investments were 250 million dollars.
Since 2010, Serbia and Turkey also have a Free Trade Agreement, which has had the greatest impact on increasing trade. Thanks to the signing of the new agreement, export quotas have been increased since June 1, 2019, and duty-free annual exports to Turkey have been approved. Serbia has been approved to export 5,000 tons of beef, 25,000 tons of crude sunflower oil, 10,000 tons of refined sunflower oil, 15,000 tons of sunflower seeds, 5,000 tons of soybeans, 1,000 tons of preparations used in animal nutrition and 500 tons of certain bakery products, Biznis reports.
