Prime Minister Ana Brnabic began her visit to France today with a working breakfast with representatives of French companies organised by the French Senate and MEDEF International.

Brnabic said that Serbia is planning even greater investments in capital infrastructure, as well as in environmental protection, and that she expects an even greater presence of French companies in Serbia in the next few years.

It is a great honour for me to be in the Senate today with the largest French companies. This is my third meeting with the Union of Employers of France, and after each one we had concrete results, both in favour of France and Serbia, the Prime Minister pointed out.

She pointed out that she is proud of the results that the Serbian economy has achieved over the years, pointing out that during the 2020 pandemic, a minimal drop in GDP of 0.9 percent was recorded.

The Prime Minister said that the level of our economy remained practically the same as before the pandemic, adding that in 2021 there was a great recovery, that GDP grew by 7.6 percent, which is one of the best results in Europe, and that expects GDP growth of 4.5 percent this year.

Brnabic pointed out to French companies that Serbia is an economically and fiscally stable country and that it can additionally invest in infrastructure and the field of ecology, which is also a priority of the Government of Serbia.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the greatest potentials for further cooperation between the two countries are investments in the field of environmental protection, noting that Belgrade plans to build five wastewater treatment plants.
According to her, great potential for cooperation exists in the field of energy and green transition, as well as in the continuation of investments in infrastructure, especially road and railway.

She stated that, in addition to the Belgrade subway, they will also work on projects for the construction of a railway corridor, with the support of the European Union, i.e., the European Investment Bank.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the relations between Serbia and France are excellent and getting better, and one of the key things that contributed to that was the visit of President of France Emanuel Macron to Belgrade.

As for the political aspect, I want to thank France and President Macron for proposing a new methodology for accession negotiations, which we accepted, because we think it makes more sense, Brnabic said.

She stated that, thanks to the new methodology, Serbia opened four additional chapters at the Intergovernmental Conference at the end of last year, i.e., a cluster concerning energy and the green transition.

The Prime Minister expressed hope that during the French presidency of the EU, which began on 1 January and lasts until the end of June, Serbia will manage to open cluster 3 and thus come one step closer to the Union.

The Prime Minister emphasised that great things happened after the French President's visit to Belgrade – Air France returned to Serbia and introduced a direct flight Belgrade-Paris, while the French Development Agency opened its Office for the Western Balkans in Belgrade.

That is how we got the impetus for new French investments, said the Prime Minister, stating that the exchange of goods has increased by 36.4 percent in the last five years.

According to her, in 2021 alone, trade amounted to €1.4 billion, with 80 percent of all French investments in the region ending in Serbia.

Brnabic said that two large French investments also contributed to the excellent bilateral relations, with one concession for Nikola Tesla International Airport, which was awarded to the French company VINCI.

According to her, the second is a large public-private partnership with the French-Japanese consortium for solving one of the biggest environmental problems, not only in Serbia, but in Europe, and that is the Vinca landfill.

Senate Vice President Roger Karoutchi sent an invitation to French companies to invest in Serbia, because that will increase foreign trade in favour of both countries.

He assessed that there is room for strengthening economic cooperation and that France does not currently occupy a large investment space in Serbia like Germany and Austria, despite the climate that is very favourable for investments.
We will work on new partnerships and connections, and you have the key to success. I hope that we will increase our cooperation, the Vice President of the Senate told French companies.

President of the France-Western Balkans Friendship Group in the French Senate Marta de Cidrac said at the working breakfast dedicated to Serbia that she is very happy because Prime Minister Brnabic came from Belgrade especially to meet with businessmen from France.

She reiterated France's support for Serbia on its path to the European Union, expressing satisfaction that France had defined the Western Balkans as one of its priorities during its EU presidency.

De Cidrac pointed out that great potentials in cooperation exist in the field of environmental protection and energy, expressing satisfaction with the fact that the government of Serbia has defined ecology as a priority because it fits into the process of approaching the EU.

Izvor: www.srbija.gov.rs