PKS: Serbian, Uzbek businesspeople opening new era of cooperation

TASHKENT - Serbia and Uzbekistan have strong political and institutional support to advance their economic relations further, connect their business communities and enable their companies to operate in third-country markets, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) said on Wednesday, noting that it had signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Uzbek chamber of commerce at a business forum in Tashkent earlier in the day.

In a statement, the PKS said Serbian and Uzbek businesspeople were opening a new era of cooperation that was made possible by political support at the highest level.

It said the memorandum defined frameworks for advancement of bilateral economic cooperation, exchange of information and support for businesses in the two countries.

Uzbekistan's participation in EXPO 2027 Belgrade will help to promote the Uzbek economy further as well as to strengthen economic ties with Serbia and the region, said the participants of the forum, held as part of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's official visit to Uzbekistan.

The forum brought together more than 80 Uzbek firms and 12 Serbian companies from the construction, agriculture, IT, metals and defence sectors with a view to boosting bilateral cooperation and developing new investment projects.

Vucic called on Uzbek companies to invest in Serbia and noted that Serbia had ensured a stable economic environment, a predictable tax system and numerous stimuli for investments.

"Serbia has created a stable and incentive business environment, and companies from Uzbekistan can always count on our support. I believe we can build strong trust and undertake activities together in third-country markets," Vucic said.

He noted that Serbia saw huge potential for cooperation with Uzbekistan in the fields of IT and communication technologies, education and science, health care, biotech, the pharmaceuticals industry, the textile sector and agriculture.