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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

New chapter of Serbia-Korea relations opened

Belgrade/Seoul, 8 September 2023

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic started her official visit to the Republic of Korea today with a meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Duck-soo.

In the past year, through substantive talks conducted at a high level and concrete steps taken, which we are continuing today here in Seoul, we have opened a new chapter in Serbia-Korea relations, Brnabic pointed out and stated that they will yield significant and concrete economic fruits in the near future.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo underlined that Serbia is an ideal place as a hub for companies from Korea to expand their business in Europe, which will also open the possibility for Serbian companies to expand their business on the European continent.

Driven by the growing trade exchange of both goods and services, the economic cooperation between the two countries is developing more and more intensively. It is fascinating that the exchange of goods between our two countries has increased 49 times in the previous decade, and Serbian exports as much as 102 times, while Korean companies in Serbia, which currently employ almost 9,000 workers, also make a significant contribution to this, stated the Prime Minister.

Brnabic pointed out that, when it comes to investment cooperation, we still have a lot of work to do and that is why today's signing of the Agreement on mutual encouragement and protection of investments is particularly important, which will provide additional legal certainty and create a new impetus for attracting Korean investors in Serbia.

The prime ministers also welcomed the steps taken by the two sides to start negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement.

An agreement was reached and common will expressed for formal negotiations on this Agreement to be started, in accordance with the relevant national procedures.

It is expected that the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Korea, when concluded, will significantly contribute to the improvement of bilateral economic cooperation through the establishment of a free trade regime and additional strengthening of investment opportunities.

In the light of the increasingly intensive bilateral cooperation in the field of knowledge-based industries and innovations, the prime ministers welcomed the fact that the two sides started discussions on establishing a permanent dialogue in the field of innovative economy.

This regular dialogue mechanism will focus on four key areas – smart mobility, bioeconomy, digital transformation and new green energy technologies.

The two sides expect that this mechanism, once established, will serve as a catalyst for the further progress of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Prime Minister pointed out that in recent years, Serbia has been among the leading suppliers of cereals, especially corn, to Korea, and further steps to strengthen cooperation in the field of agriculture were also discussed at the meeting.

Brnabic also expressed her willingness to establish closer cooperation in the field of creative industries, as well as her interest in strengthening interpersonal contacts through cooperation in the fields of youth exchange and sports.

The prime ministers exchanged views on current global and regional issues and confirmed the intention to continue mutual support in international organisations of mutual importance.