Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (front) addresses the opening ceremony of a highway section in Belgrade, Serbia, April 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)
"In the last ten years, China has been the second-largest investor in Serbia, and together with our friends from China, such as China Road and Bridge Corporation, we have built some of the most important infrastructure projects in the country," Momirovic said.
BELGRADE, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation between Serbia and China has significantly intensified in recent years and a number of successful infrastructure projects have been implemented, Serbian Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Tuesday.
He made the remarks at the Communication-Integration-Ecosystem conference held here, which was also attended by Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, as well as other officials and business representatives from both countries.
Passengers take a selfie at Novi Sad station in Serbia, May 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
"In the last ten years, China has been the second-largest investor in Serbia, and together with our friends from China, such as China Road and Bridge Corporation, we have built some of the most important infrastructure projects in the country," Momirovic said.
He said that China and Serbia had completed the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement last week, and that the agreement would further contribute to the expansion of bilateral trade.
Noting that the Chinese-built Pupin's Bridge in Belgrade has become a symbol of the traditional friendship between the two countries, Chen said, "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road initiative, thanks to which Sino-Serbian cooperation marked significant achievements, especially in the field of infrastructure."
She also highlighted a newly built section of the E-763 highway and the Belgrade-Novi Sad high-speed railway.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic (L, Front) poses with others during a launch of the first direct flight between Serbia's Belgrade and China's Tianjin in Belgrade, Serbia, on Dec. 9, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)
The China Road and Bridge Corporation and China Communications Construction Company, which were among the first Chinese construction companies entering the Serbian market, organized the conference. The two companies also presented their new Environment, Social and Governance report.