Photo: Privredna komora SrbijeThe World Expo 2020 Dubai, under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", gathered 200 participants, including 192 countries, international organizations, companies and educational institutions. The Serbian Pavilion is in the "Mobility" district, and the performance is titled "Serbia creates ideas – Inspired by the Past, Shaping the Future." During the exhibition, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of the Serbian Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai and the Development Agency of Serbia, organizes business delegations and programs for businessmen for nine theme weeks. How everything went that week of "Urban and Rural Development" at the beginning of November, reports Ivana Vuletic, Secretary of the Construction Association, Construction Material Industry and Housing Industry of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
IVANA VULETIĆ, SECRETARY OF THE CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION, SCC
"During the third theme week, "Urban and Rural development", 77 companies, or 158 businessmen, participated in the business delegation, setting a record for the number of businessmen in a single delegation. Those 77 companies that were part of the business delegation employ 4,546 people and their total business income for 2019, according to financial reports, was more than 50 billion dinars," says Ivana Vuletic.
During this theme week, Serbian businessmen were introduced to the Business Hub SCC in the South Dubai industrial zone and the possibilities of its use for organizing meetings and presentations for free. This unique, modernly equipped business space represents a new type of international support for businessmen. It is designed for the presentation of Serbian companies from various industries, the presentation of specific products and services, as well as for the meetings and presentations with potential partners.
As part of the week "Urban and Rural Development," the investment conference "Invest in Serbia: Real Estate" was held in the Serbian Pavilion, attended by Tatjana Matic, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Tomislav Momirovic, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Danilo Cicmil, advisor to the President of the Republic of Serbia and Marko Cadez, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. Aspects and opportunities for investments in the construction of commercial real estate projects, industrial and retail parks in our country were presented at the conference.
In addition to presenting opportunities and trends to the business audience, numerous meetings were held in the sector with representatives of companies interested in investing. The idea of the conference was to attract projects that would enrich Serbia with something quite modern and in line with global trends in construction and real estate. There was a lot of interest in what Serbia has to offer in terms of real estate investment at the conference.
SCC HUB, EXPO 2020
Businessmen had the opportunity to meet possible business partners in direct B2B interactions throughout their stay at Expo 2020. The discussions took place in the pavilions of Slovakia, India, Sweden and the USA. Also, numerous individual meetings with companies from Hungary, Latvia, Iran, Germany and Korea were held. More than 90 businessmen from Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, India, Latvia, Syria, the United States, Iran, Malaysia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates attended the B2B event in the Pavilion of the Republic of Serbia.
"Considering that numerous Serbian companies are already operating in the UAE and the Middle East region, a panel was organized in the premises of SCC Business Hub, where our businessmen, who are already working in the UAE, shared their experiences. The presentation of Ognjen Sudzum, whose company UPG Engineering has been operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia for many years, was extremely helpful," says Ivana Vuletic.
More than 2,000 business contacts were made at the Expo during this week, according to the questionnaire submitted by the businessmen. Businessmen expect over 300 contacts to lead to direct business cooperation. More than ten pre-contracts and contracts, as well as other agreements with corporations from the UAE, the USA, India and Serbia, have been signed. The companies expect contracts that are individually worth 10,000 to three million euros. A large number of jobs have been agreed upon in the field of construction services.
Text: JOVANA NIKOLIĆ
Photo: Privredna komora Srbije
