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THE LARGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT BILATERAL
|AHK SERBIA | THE LARGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT BILATERAL ORGANIZATION IN SERBIA
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) represents the interests of its member companies, provides informative support for their business and is committed to developing and improving German-Serbian trade and cooperation in all economic aspects. One of the tasks of AHK Serbia is to provide advisory support to German companies entering the Serbian market, as well as to Serbian businesspeople when entering the German market
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Conference "Western Balkans and the German Economy: Investment - Supply Initiatives - Mobility"
Visit of the Federal Minister Peter Altmaier
Sponsored by the Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), in cooperation with the Committee of the German Economy for Eastern Europe - East European Association of German Economy (OA) and the German Association for Southeast Europe, organ ized in November 2019 a conference dedicated to German initiatives, economic development, new conditions and effects of the German Law on the Immigration of Professional Workers from Non-EU Countries, as well as demographic challenges in Serbia. T he conference was opened by AHK Serbia's President, Ronald Seeliger, PhD, Minister without Portfolio in charge of Demography and Population Policy, Slavica Đukić Dejanović, PhD, and Head of Section EU Enlargement, Southeast Europe and Turkey at t he German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, Helge Tolksdorf.
VISIT OF THE FEDERAL MINISTER FOR ECONOMY AND ENERGY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY PETER ALTMAIER WITH BUSINESS DELEGATION
As part of the visit of the Minister of Economy and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Peter Altmaier to Serbia in October 2019, AHK Serbia played host to German businesspeople at the Business Briefing and the Round Table at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.
Business Briefing brought together businesspeople from Germany who were part of a delegation that came with Minister Altmaier and German MPs. During the meeting, business delegation from Germany were informed about the current political situation in the country from the Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dorotea Gizelman, while the President of the Ger
man-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), Ronald Seeliger, PhD, informed them about the situation in the economic sector. Following the briefing, Minister Altmaier attended a gathering together with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež, Deputy Director General of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Volker Treier, PhD, President of AHK Serbia, Ronald Seeliger, PhD, Director of AHK Serbia, Martin Knapp, as well as German and Serbian businesspeople and members of AHK Serbia. On the occasion, Minister Altmaier said that Germany and Serbia wanted to intensify their relations and that the y could achieve that through economic cooperation. Ronald Seeliger, president of AHK S erbia, assessed that the economic cooperation between Serbia and Germany has been good so far, adding that Germany has been investing heavily in Serbia and that German companies employed more than 60,000 people in Serbia.
Survey on conditions for doing business in Serbia in 2019
Last year, AHK Serbia conducted a survey on the economic environment in Serbia among its member companies, which positively assessed the economic climate in Serbia, expressed positive expectations regarding own businesses and the satisfaction with the labour market. 88 per cent of surve yed companies would invest again in Serbia. During the panel discussion, the panel participants German Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Thomas Schieb, President of the Fiscal Council of the Republic of Serbia, Pavle Petrović and Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, Ljubodrag Savić, talked about the need to increase the fight against corruption, but also to boost legal certainty and transparency in public procurements.
DUAL EDUCATION
The German industry, as one of the leading economic powers, has, over time, resisted a number of challenges precisely thanks to its well-trained workforce and
Dual education
dual education system, which has been implemented in Germany for almost a hundred years. Since the Law on V ocational Training in Serbia came into force in September 2019, companies wishing to enter the ne w dual system "Worked-Based-Learning" and apply for accreditation in the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia can now use consultations and numerous services provided by AHK Serbia. T he conference organized by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce titled "Dual Education - Experiences of German Companies in Serbia" started the "Dual Education Week" in October 2019 under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia. T he conference was opened by the Director of AHK Serbia, Martin Knapp, Assistant Minister for Dual and Entrepreneurial Education, Gabrijela Grujić and Director of the Centre for Dual Education at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Mirjana Kovačević. Representatives of German companies Siemens Serbia, Robert Bosch, ContitechFluid Serbia and Draexlmaier Serbia shared their experiences in implementing the dual education system with the media representatives and members of AHK Serbia.
AHK ONLINE STUDENT PRACTICE WEBSITE
The student practice website - www. ahk-praksa.com - in the companies that are AHK's member, was created following AHK Serbia and the University of Belgrade's initiative called "German Business-to-Work Experience Model" with the aim of helping students with their professional development and their better integration in the labour market. T he President of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), Ronald Seeliger, PhD, and University of Belgrade Rector, Ivanka Popović signed a Cooperation Agreement in March this year to improve students' professional training, their better integration in the labour market and present companies that are Chamber members. On this occasion, it was announced that the Chamber and the University of Belgrade will create an online platform this year where members of AHK Serbia, as well as other companies with German capital that are not members of AHK, will regularly publish vacancies for work practice in their companies.
Senior Expert Service
Export Initiative Projects
Export Initiative Projects
Trade fairs in Germany
SENIOR EXPERT SERVICE
The core activity of the SES programme is based on the mediation of professional consultants in various economic and non-economic activities worldwide. This German non-profit organization, subsidized by the German Ministry of International Cooperation, deals with the mediation and organization of German professional consultants' engagement in small and medium-sized companies. SES consultants are active German retirees; professionals with extensive experience who carry out their engagement with great enthusiasm and work ethic. T hey provide consulting services without financial compensation, with the aim of assisting and promoting the organization of business in small and medium-sized enterprises, public institutions, associations and educational institutions, both in Serbia and around the world.
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce has been representing the SES programme in Serbia since 2005. As of 2018, about 250 SES engagements have been realized in Serbian companies and non-commercial entities.
EXPORT INITIATIVE PROJECTS
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), sponsored by the Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Federal R epublic of Germany, organized a conference last May on the topic: "Energy efficiency in buildings". Seven German companies presented their product and service range in these areas, after which all participants of the conference had B2B meetings with German companies.
In January 2020, under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany, AHK Serbia held a conference called "Modernization in the Sectors of Transport, Logistics and Transport Infrastructure in Serbia and Mon tenegro". At the conference, seven German companies presented their product range, innovations and services in these areas.
GERMAN INITIATIVE FOR FINDING SUPPLIERS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS STATES
Fifth, a regional B2B project was held on June 6, 2019, in Dortmund, organized by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, a representative office of the German businesses in the Western Balkans (AHK), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the German Association Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME eV), with the goal of German companies finding manufacturers from the required economic branches in Serbia and the Western Balkans. The participating companies were predominantly from the metal p rocessing sector, the automotive supply sector, the plastics processing and production sector, as well as from the electrical and electronic sectors.
Trade fairs in Germany
Presenting the startup scene in Serbia
Presenting the startup scene in Serbia
AHK Serbia's Thematic Day
TRADE FAIRS IN GERMANY
German fairs, as the most important promotional mechanisms and sales institutions in E urope and beyond, have always occupied a significant place in the economic cooperation between Serbia and Germany.
AHK Serbia represents: • T he Munich International Fair • The Cologne International Fair • The Nuremberg Toy Fair • Intec and Z fairs in Leipzig
PRESENTING THE STARTUP SCENE IN SERBIA
The fact that Serbia has a very vibrant start-up community, with many young and innovative companies, motivated AHK Serbia to do a research on the startup scene in Serbia, which was presented to the public on July 3, 2019, at the ICT Hub. The results of the research on the startup scene in Serbia indicate that the conditions for startup com panies doing business in Serbia are good, and that the ecosystem of these companies is very interesting and consists of people who are hardworking, creative, ambitious and eager to work.
On this occasion, AHK Serbia's President Ronald Seeliger pointed out that there was a lot of room for synergy between large, older companies and start-ups and that there was huge potential in Serbia to be harnessed. According to AHK Serbia's Director, Martin Knapp, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce organizes the networking of German companies and young Serbian com panies that have the ability to use their networks, not only in Germany but also in the global market. Research a uthor Christoph Berndt said that the support of larger companies that are more familiar with the market and have access to customers was also needed, and larger companies can also help startups through product testing which could be done by those companies becoming clients of startups.
AHK SERBIA'S THEMATIC DAY: DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR AND THE SERBIAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
A thematic day was held at the Science and Technology Park Belgrade on December 11, 2019, organized by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of exchanging information and fostering dialogue between the members of AHK Serbia in the field of the a utomotive industry and the startup community of Serbia.
Participants had the opportunity to gain insight into current business processes and needs of a given industry through presentations by members of the automotive sector of A HK Serbia and discussions with experts from the given industries, as well as to improve their know-how and discuss possibilities of cooperation with the presented companies.
Business dinner for the representatives of the AHK member companies is one of the very popular membership events. An honorary speaker from the domestic economic and political scene opens the event with a short presentation on one of the current topics, followed by a discussion and a cocktail party in a relaxed atmosphere. In April 2019, AHK Serbia had the honour of hosting the Minister of Finance, Mr Siniša Mali, as a distinguished speaker, who talked about the economic policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
In January 2020, the guest of honour at AHK Members Dinner was the Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Zsuzsanna Hargitai, who spoke about the opportunities and ob stacles to investing in Serbia from the EBRD's perspective.
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce organizes working groups focusing o n three areas: human resources, communications and public relations, as well as energy efficiency and rene wable energy. At interesting interactive meetings of members, with an average of 35 participants, participants present common topics. The meetings also feature lectures by experts in their respective fields and the exchange of experience between colleagues from different companies.
SPEED BUSINESS MEETING Speed Business Meeting was held last February, which was attended by over 50 companies, members of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (CCIFS), Confindustria Serbia (Association of Italian Businesspeople in Serbia) and Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC) for the purpose of getting to know each other through direct contact and promoting cooperation between member companies of four business communities.
AHK OKTOBERFEST
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce nurtures a 200-year-old German tradition by holding the AHK Oktoberfest each year. The 10th Oktoberfest in Belgrade, and the fourth that was organized by AHK Serbia, was held on 10th and 11th October, 2019. Around 1,300 guests from company members, partners and business executives enjoyed Erdinger Beer, diverse Bavarian cuisine and music by Dejan Petrović and his Big Band, as well as competitions in mug-holding and beer drinking.
AHK Members dinner
AHK Members dinner
The fifth multicongress in Serbia, Serbian Visions was held at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Old Mill, on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23, 2019. At the opening ceremony of the 5th Serbian Visions Multicongress, the organizers gave out plaques for the third year running. T he association Žene na Prekretnici was the recipient of the plaque for the best vision. This is the only association dedicated to the economic empowerment of unemployed women over the age of 45, the most vulnerable group in the Serbian labour market.
The Best Social Engagement Award went to the Association of Internal Auditors of Serbia, which works to promote sound corporate governance and ethical principles, as well as to increase awareness of the value of internal audit. • 40 two-hour events over two days • 40 participants, co -organizers of manifestations: NGOs, professional associations, institutes, institutions, companies, associations, universities… • 40 different ways of presenting: discussions, forums, presentations, workshops, seminars, film screenings and more • 40 interesting topics from the segments of human rights, economics, education, culture, health, environment, EU integration and others • 40 and more reasons to come and visit the only multicongress in Serbia
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce together with other foreign chambers (the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Slovenian Business Club, the Croatian Business Club, Confindustria and the Nordic Business Alliance) had a networking cocktail reception during the Kopaonik Business Forum in M arch 2019. The goal of organizing such an event is to provide our members with a better platform for networking and sharing experiences, as well as to improve the business environment.
AHK Serbia organizes over 50 events annually. Close to 40 Serbian companies exhibit at trade fairs in Cologne, Munich and Nuremberg. Over 8,000 visitors attend AHK events.
AHK Oktoberfest
Serbian Visions Cocktail reception for bilateral chambers of commerce at Kopaonik Business Forum
