Trade turnover between Russia and Serbia has decreased in the past 3 years due to problems caused by Western sanctions. However, Belgrade expects in the coming years to return to the historically high levels of trade observed in 2022, said Nenad Popovic, the minister responsible for international economic cooperation in the Serbian government, quoted by TASS.
Popovic recalled the record trade turnover between Serbia and Russia in 2022, when it amounted to 4.3 billion USD. “But after the start of the war, when transport routes and logistics became more complicated, sanctions led to a certain decline“, he said.
“I am confident that this and the next few years we will achieve a volume of trade turnover that would be historic“, Popovich concluded. “There are prerequisites for this. This includes energy, primarily gas and oil, and, of course, agriculture and especially food products“, he added.
According to the minister, the two countries have “great potential in healthcare“, in particular, an agreement was signed with “Rosatom“ in 2021 to establish a center for nuclear medicine. “This is very important for our people who suffer from cancer“, Popovic noted.
"And in the field of culture and sports, there are really very warm relations and they are getting better year by year. Serbia intends to achieve a record trade turnover with Russia in the coming years ", he added.