Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić said at the opening of the exhibition “Doha-My journey of discovery”, organized on the occasion of the National Day of Qatar, that two countries such as Serbia and Qatar could be brought closer together through cultural exchange, but tighter cooperation should be achieved primarily through economy and investment.

At the exhibition, organized by the Association of Serbian-Qatar Friendship under the patronage of Qatar Airways it was stated that in the first ten months of 2013, a growth was marked in the so far modest goods exchange between the two countries. Serbia made a balance of 873,000 euros through the export of electricity and consulting services among other things. On the other hand, the import balance was 3.3 million euros.

The Association of Serbian-Qatar Friendship noted that in Qatar every investment is approached with caution but that there is interest in investing in Serbia.

The president of the Association Dragan B. Tomić said that Qatar would not send a state delegation to Serbia if they were not interested in it as a destination for a good business relationship, and as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East to further realize their investments.

It is announced that Serbia and Qatar will sign agreements on economic and technical cooperation and investment protection in the first half of January 2014. That should serve as a safety guarantee for Qatari investors.

It is estimated that mutual interests lie in building the hydropower plant Bistrica and Đerdap 3. However, everything will be much clearer after the announced meeting in January next year.