In the first visit of a Serbian president to Egypt in 15 years, President Aleksandar Vučić met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli in Cairo earlier this week.
The visit witnessed the signing of a free-trade agreement to boost economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The idea of the agreement was first brought up during Al-Sisi’s visit to Serbia in 2022 and has been under negotiation between the two sides since then. They also inked 10 other cooperation agreements covering various fields.
Serbia is part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with which Egypt established diplomatic relations in 1908. The two countries under their late presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Josip Tito were among the main founders of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961.
However, economic cooperation between the two countries is still below average compared to their historical political relations. The volume of trade between Egypt and Serbia reached $120.4 million in 2023, compared to $104.7 million in 2022.
Egyptian exports to Serbia recorded a 177 per cent increase in 2023 compared to the previous year to reach $30 million.
Egypt’s most important exports to Serbia in 2023 were fertilisers worth $18.5 million, followed by vegetables and fruit worth $5.7 million. Serbia’s exports to Egypt included tobacco worth $75.6 million and grains worth $2 million.
Al-Sisi and Vučić agreed on the importance of the periodic convening of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, notably the Political Consultation Committee and the Egyptian-Serbian Joint Committee for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation to promote and strengthen cooperation between the two countries, especially in the sectors of investment, agriculture, tourism, communications, and information technology.
Observers believe that while Egypt can be a gateway for Serbian exports, as well as exports from the Eastern and Central European countries, to the African continent and Arab markets, Egypt can benefit from Serbia’s geographical location by making it a centre for launching Egyptian exports to the markets of the Eastern and Southern European countries.
“We exchanged views on various international and regional issues, mainly the Ukrainian crisis. We affirmed the necessity of achieving peace at the earliest opportunity. We also discussed developments in Sudan and Libya, in addition to the current crisis in Gaza,” Al-Sisi said during a press conference during the visit.
Furthermore, the two presidents shed light on the situation in the Western Balkans region. Al-Sisi said they confirmed the importance of the Serbian role in establishing stability and enhancing cooperation in this region, in the light of Serbia’s prominent role in activating the “Open Balkans” initiative to enhance opportunities for cooperation among the Western Balkans countries.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 18 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: