Serbia is discussing with the Russian Railways the construction of new railway lines on the territory of the republic. “We have excellent relations with Russian Railways. They built a lot here and brought in new technologies. A new modern dispatch center will be built together with the Russian railways in Serbia. We are talking about the construction of new railway lines in Serbia”, said the minister in charge of international economic cooperation in the government of the republic, Nenad Popovic.
Popovich highlighted several promising joint projects with the Russian side. “We expect a lot from cooperation in the field of new technologies in the next period. First of all, I see cooperation between our IT companies that are engaged in digital transformation in all spheres of industry. A big push for this will be given, I would say, by dozens of IT specialists who work in Serbia. Today they cooperate, cooperate on the Serbian market, tomorrow they can work on the Russian market and in third countries – in the markets of Europe, Asia, Africa”, he said.
The minister also informed that the Russian company Power Machines, which started and completed the repair of the large hydroelectric plant Jerdap-1, “is likely to start the reconstruction project of Jerdap-2”.
"Gazpromneft Company" is the largest taxpayer in Serbia, this is very important. And it continues to work effectively even in such difficult economic conditions,”, he continued. - Russian gas, I repeat, has no alternative. Many people want to impose gas alternatives on us, but we get the cheapest gas from Russia. He has no alternative. This guarantees our energy security. This winter and next may be very difficult, but we have guaranteed gas supplies.“
Besides the partnership in the economic sphere, Popovich drew attention to the “excellent mutual understanding at the political and diplomatic level”. “Russia supported and supports Serbia absolutely everywhere in the international arena, especially on issues and situations that are of great importance to our vital interests, such as Kosovo or the recent adoption of the resolution on Srebrenica at the UN,”, he stressed. “On the other hand, Serbia does not impose sanctions against Russia.“
According to the minister, despite all external difficulties, “our trade exchange is quite diversified”. “As for the general rates of import and export, there are energy resources, chemicals, food, medicine, machinery and equipment for the military-industrial complex“, noted the Serbian politician.
"For 2023, official statistics for our trade turnover with the Russian Federation have not yet been published, but according to preliminary estimates, the figures have decreased by about $2.8 billion, which is at the level of 2021. Recession, of course, is not good, but given the current economic situation: the North Atlantic, the political situation, sanctions and the increasing complexity of logistics, this is understandable. But I think we have no signs of concern,”, Popovic said. “We will wait until the end of this year and I think next year, especially thanks to the resumption of the meetings of the intergovernmental commission, growth is expected.