Prime Minister Sobotka met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Vučić

“Today’s meeting is a confirmation of the traditionally friendly relations between the CR and Serbia and I am happy to note that there a number of areas where we can further deepen our mutual cooperation,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka at the press conference after the meeting.

 The meeting took place at a time when Serbia is taking resolute steps towards future membership of the European Union – with the beginning of the year seeing the start of accession negotiations. The Czech Republic supports Serbia’s long-term efforts for EU integration and is prepared to continue to share its experience, both of membership of the EU and, more importantly, of its preparations for accession.

For the Czech Republic, Serbia represents an extremely attractive business partner. Czech companies have experience of operating on the Serbian market and enjoy a good reputation there. Thanks to their extensive know-how, they can, for example, contribute to the construction of a motorway network in Serbia and the modernisation of the railway infrastructure. Other opportunities also exist in projects in the area of energy or green technologies.

At the press conference, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka provided information on his upcoming trip to the summit of central and eastern European countries and China, which is due to take place in December 2014 in Belgrade. Both prime ministers agreed that, alongside the summit, a Czech-Serbian trade and investment forum will be held, with the participation of companies from both countries, which will aim to advance economic cooperation projects that have already been prepared.