Serbia, which is among the EU's most important partners in agriculture, aims for sectoral cooperation with Turkey. In this context, the sector representatives who came together under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia gathered at the Serbia-Turkey Agricultural Business Forum held by the DEIK / Turkey-Serbia Business Council on 22 August 2017 in Belgrade.

 

Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Livestock and Branislav Nedimovic, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Water Management of Serbia, also attended the Turkey-Serbia Agricultural Business Forum, which hosts more than 400 participants. Within the scope of the Business Forum, the opportunities of cooperation between the two countries in agriculture and food sector were discussed. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Livestock Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba emphasized that they discussed the potentially high products with his Serbian counterpart. Minister Fakbıbaba said that the two countries are the gateways which open to the West and the East, and underlined the fact that both countries would win if there will be cooperation. Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Water Management Branislav Nedimovic reminded Serbia's proximity to the EU market, stressed the country's logistical advantage, and noted that Serbia recognized various privileges for foreign investors.

 

DEIK / Turkey-Serbia Business Council President Aleksandar Medjedovic during the closing session of the Forum stressed that the agriculture sector has an important role in the development of both countries. Business Council President Medjedovic said that this common potential should be transformed into cooperation and treated as partnerships in third world country markets. In Serbia, where the economy is based on agriculture and more than 20% of its population is subsistence agriculture, the only sector that gives the economy a positive trade balance is agriculture. In this sector, maize, sugar, raspberries, wheat and sunflower are on the forefront.