President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Marko Čadež: Ukraine can use Serbia as a hub to access markets in the Balkans, the EU, Asia and Africa

Exclusive interview of President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Marko Čadež with Interfax-Ukraine

Text: PhD in Economics Maksim Urakin

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Marko Čadež, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, spoke about the prospects for economic cooperation between Ukraine and Serbia, preparations for the resumption of negotiations on a free trade agreement, opportunities for Serbian companies to participate in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, the potential of Danube logistics, and the creation of a Serbian-Ukrainian Business Council.

According to him, despite the war, trade between Ukraine and Serbia has returned to the level of the last pre-war year, while Serbian business is interested in deeper forms of cooperation - from joint ventures and industrial cooperation to IT projects, energy, the agricultural sector, construction and logistics.

– How would you assess the current state of economic relations between Serbia and Ukraine after the war reshaped regional trade, logistics and investment flows?

– Although Ukraine and Serbia were not among each other’s main trading partners by trade volume over the past decade, and although the highest level of mutual trade, reached in 2018, amounted to only $517 million, it was precisely the pandemic first, and then the war, that confirmed the great interdependence of our economies. This is especially true when it comes to supplies of Ukrainian raw materials and intermediate products for Serbian industry, which accounted for about 70% of our total imports. It is enough to recall how many problems after February 24, 2022, were caused by disruptions in supplies of Ukrainian iron ore for the Serbian steel mill, coal,