INTERVIEW MARINA SCOGNAMIGLIO, DIRECTOR OF THE ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY IN BELGRADE
Exciting Year
AHEAD
Italy has been Serbia's main trade partner in the last decade, with a high degree of compatibility and proximity, and I have reasons to believe that it will return to that position. Indeed, losses from 2020 are already being compensated for
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taly was Serbia’s second largest partner in 2020 when it comes to exports and the country’s third largest partner when it comes to imports, after Germany and China. Although these are favourable statistics, it seemed for some time that bilateral trade between our two countries had somewhat lost its momentum. Here Marina Scognamiglio, Director of the Italian Trade Agency in Belgrade, crunches the numbers and trends for CorD. Which factors influenced such trade dynamics in recent years? - A recent study confirmed our own research, conducted several years ago: there are around 600 Serbian companies with Italian capital (this number grows up to almost three times if we consider all companies with a share of Italian capital) operating in the country and they form part of the economic backbone of the country, ranging from the financial and banking sectors, to manufacturing, industry and agri-food.Italy remains one of the primary investors in Serbia, with investments ranging from small joint-ventures scattered all across the country – from Vranje to the north of Vojvodina – to huge investments like Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles in Kragujevac. Last year was unfortunately marked by the COVID pandemic, a factor that cannot be ignored. Resilience and persistence have, however, always characterised the entrepreneurs of both countries and the fall in trade in 2020 is already being compensated for in the first quarter of this year (+2.6% in the trade exchange with Italian exports beyond 3% in the same period). Although the automotive sector remains the single most significant contributor to our bilateral trade, the structure of commerce is very heterogeneous and encompasses nearly all key parts of the Serbian economy. Italy has been Serbia’s main
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Business Partner - Italy 2021
