The Minister of Energy and Mining, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, emphasized tonight that she is sure that Serbia will continue to develop economically, regardless of all the struggles it is exposed to, which, as she emphasized, it is leading very bravely in order, above all, to protect international law .
“We are facing extraordinary challenges, when it comes to our reputation, but also the defense of our sovereignty and territorial integrity. And I am really sure that our country will continue to develop economically, regardless of all the aggravating circumstances, the struggles we are exposed to, and which we are actually fighting very bravely in order to protect international law above all”, said Đedović Handanović at the gala dinner on the occasion of the 15 . the birthday of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, which was also attended by the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, Emanuele Giofre.
This, as she said, is an opportunity to thank all partners along the way and to tell all our economic partners that Serbia will continue its even stronger economic development.
“We will continue even stronger economic development with the aim, first of all, of developing our economy, our economy, a better standard and life of our citizens, and then in the perspective of merging the market with EU countries and all the benefits and benefits that this brings,” said Đedović Handanović. at a gathering where President Dragan Stokić presented her with an award for her contribution to the development of French-Serbian economic relations.
The minister thanked for the recognition, but also for the initiatives and activities of ČIFS, which, as she noted, improved Serbian-French relations.
“I believe that this is recognition for everything that we as the Ministry and as the Government of Serbia have done in the previous period, to give a new impulse to the development of the energy sector, to systematically develop it and make it more efficient,” she said.
She reminded that Serbia and France have a long history of bilateral relations – since 1839, and emphasized that the current good and friendly relations stem from that past, but, as she added, they were determined by looking to the future.
She stated that a lot had been achieved in the previous 12 years, primarily in economic cooperation.
“Commodity exchange increased three times from 2012 to 2023, reaching nearly two billion euros, and Serbia’s exports increased 3.5 times during that period. France is among the 10 largest investors in Serbia”, she stated.
The minister reminded that in the Serbian-French cooperation, infrastructural projects are especially important, such as the Belgrade airport “Nikola Tesla”, the rehabilitation of the landfill in Vinča and the construction of a plant for the production of electricity and thermal energy (Suez), the Belgrade metro project (Egis Rail, Alstom), automation of the medium voltage distribution network (EDF and Schneider Electric).
“The joint declaration of the two presidents signed in 2019 during the visit of the French president to Belgrade gave an additional impetus to the improvement of economic relations”, she said and emphasized that the recent visit of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to Paris, when the Memorandum on Cooperation was also signed, is particularly important for Serbia. with EDF, which established a framework for long-term dialogue in the field of energy transition and low-carbon technologies.
Serbia, as she emphasized, is seriously considering the possibilities for using nuclear energy.
“Considering how we will meet the growing need for electricity in the coming decades, primarily due to the development of industry and advanced technologies, but also to meet our obligations regarding the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, in addition to the additional development of renewable energy sources, we are seriously looking at the possibilities for the use of nuclear energy”, said Đedović Handanović and pointed out that discussions on that topic have already started with the most expert people in the country.
According to her, in addition to investments in transport infrastructure, the green and digital transition represents the most promising area of economic cooperation between the two countries, which also represents an important part of Serbia’s European path.
