Tomasz Niegodzisz, Ambassador of Poland to Belgrade – Serbia is Poland's most important economic and trade partner in the region

Polish investors are interested in the investment potential of Serbia, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Serbia, Tomasz Niegodzisz, says in his interview for eKapija and reminds about the important role Serbia plays in the region and the free trade agreements Serbia has signed with numerous countries.

He explains that the Embassy presents Serbia “as an interesting market, pointing out both the positive aspects of the potential future cooperation and the difficulties entrepreneurs might run into”.

Ambassador Niegodzisz also offers the help and the experience of his country in the transformation of Serbia into a dynamic and stable economy and he also invites investors from Serbia to consider Poland as a potential destinations for new investments.

eKapija: How do you see the current state of the economic and the political relations of our two countries?

– To Poland, Serbia is the most important economic and trade partner in the region. Still, the potential of our economic cooperation is not yet fully utilized. The economic exchange between the two countries is considerable and is constantly growing. Since 2010, it has more than doubled. According to Poland`s statistical data, the mutual merchandise trade reached EUR 952.5 million in 2016 and further increased by 18% from January till August 2017.

The political relations are very good as well, as confirmed by intensified contacts.

Serbian and Polish prime ministers, Ana Brnabic and Beata Szydlo, met on the margins of the latest summit of the prime ministers of China and Central and Eastern Europe in Budapest, and the second meeting of the Polish-Serbian Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, where cooperation in the fields of transport, agriculture, trade and investments was considered, took place in November in Warsaw.

eKapija: In the past period, there have been frequent Polish-Serbian business forums. What are the concrete results of these gatherings?

– In the past few years, there`s been a forum a year, the most obvious effect of which is the presentation of the possibilities of cooperation and an encouragement of continued cooperation. It often happens that we learn what the effects of such meetings are after a long time, noticing new Polish companies entering the Serbian market.

Polish companies are also noticing Serbia`s potential outside the previously established paths. One example is the presence of brands such as Reserved, CCC and 4F in the clothes and footwear industry, and Polish cosmetics are also available in the Serbian market: Ziaja, Inglot, Eveline, Dr Irena Eris.

(Photo: ASDF_MEDIA/shutterstock.com)

eKapija: Poland’s Orbis has recently opened a hotel in downtown Belgrade, GTC continues to invest through raising a shopping center, Solaris is promoting its buses... How interested are Polish investors in investing in Serbia?

– Polish investors are interested in the investment potential of Serbia, keeping in mind the role your country has in the region, but also the similarity in the way our economies are structured.

We get plenty of mail and phone inquiries, and the activities of specialized companies providing services of market research and information about the business potential also prove that there`s interest.

For years now, numerous Polish companies have been present in the Serbian market, such as Rafako, Tele-fonika (owner of cable factory in Zajecar), Pol-Mot and Assecco.

During the said meeting of our prime ministers, the need for intensifying the economic cooperation was emphasized, including bigger Polish investments in the fields of mining and energy, mechanical and arms industry, tourism, as well as a bigger cooperation between small and medium companies in both countries.

eKapija: Which fields do Polish companies find the most interesting? Where is there the most room for cooperation?

– Companies interested in the Serbian market come from various sectors. There`s heavy industry, agriculture and food industry, medical industry, green technologies and other fields.

We have also noticed that Polish companies are interested in the pharmaceutical sector in Serbia, as well as the agrarian and food sector, fruit and vegetable processing, agricultural mechanization and planting fruit.

At the same time, Poland could be an increasingly interesting market for Serbia. The Polish economy is the sixth economy in the EU, and the GDP per capita is nearly at 70% of the EU average. In 2016, Poland advanced on the World Bank`s Doing Business list, placing 25th.

According to the projections of the National Bank of Poland and the European Commission, the economic growth in Poland is expected to amount to 4.2% of the GDP in 2017. Our economy is therefore stable, and the business environment suits foreign entrepreneurs and investors. We also have the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, one of whose tasks is economic promotion of Poland, but also making contacts with foreign companies interested in economic activity in Poland.

eKapija: What are the biggest advantages of Serbia when it comes to attracting investments? What are its flaws and in which areas can it improve?

– Serbia is a country with a great regional tradition and strong economic ties with its neighbors. Another important aspect are free trade agreements that Serbia has signed. There are also many other positive aspects, and in the case of Poland, the relatively small distance between the countries, the traffic infrastructure and the similarity of our languages and culture are certainly important assets as well.

Thanks to its geographical position, and not just because of it, Serbia also has excellent food products, which I am personally fond of.

eKapija: What could improve?

– It`s not up to me to give advice, but, from the angle of our entrepreneurs, the often unclear regulations are a frequent problem. We understand that sometimes investors interested in entering the market have expectations that exceed the capabilities of local privatized companies.

A similar situation was present in Poland during its transformation, when foreign partners expected more than Polish companies were able to provide. Still, we managed to overcome this, and the Polish economy is now dynamic and stable.

eKapija: Poland has been recognized as the country which has best utilized the funds made available to it by the EU. How important is Polish experience for Serbia and what could our country learn from it?

– We are glad that we have the reputation of a country that has utilized the EU funds so well.

Indeed, there are visible results of our taking advantage of the period of political transformation and the possibilities provided by pre-accession and post-accession funds, thanks to the modernization of infrastructure and facilities, among other things.

We very gladly share with others what we`ve managed to achieve ourselves, but also the experiences which Serbia can use to avoid the mistakes we made.

eKapija: What is cooperation between Serbia and Poland like in other fields?

– I`ve already mentioned the excellent political cooperation, and it is also important to highlight the cooperation in the field of culture. Works by Polish authors are being translated into Serbian and vice versa. Several days ago, the promotion of the Serbian translation of the renowned Polish author Witold Gombrowicz` book called Cosmos took place.

Polish artists gladly visit Serbia, and Serbian audience has a chance to regularly attend performances of Frederic Chopin`s music thanks to the Belgrade Chopin Fest.

Last month, on the first anniversary of Andrzej Wajda`s death, the Yugoslav Film Archive screened a retrospective of the films made by this renowned Polish director.

The Embassy also realizes development help projects with partners from Serbia – municipalities, hospitals, schools. In the 2007-2017 period, the Embassy of Poland in Belgrade realized a total of 40 projects, worth a total of around EUR 485,000, as part of the so called Small Grants program.

eKapija: Could we announce any new activities of the Embassy in Serbia? In what way do you promote Poland in our country?

– Both me and my associates try to place great importance on establishing contacts and cooperation outside of Belgrade as well by visiting various regions of Serbia. We are always welcomed warmly and professionally. Lately, we have visited Cacak, Vlasotince, Novi Sad, Nis, Smederevo, Krusevac and Kragujevac.

This brings along with it the pleasure of learning about the culture and the customs of various regions of Serbia. The visits result in exhibitions, film screenings, which enables us to share the information received from local self-governments with Polish businessmen, for example. Of course, we feel just as welcome in Belgrade.

In the context of activities planned by the Embassy for upcoming holidays period, we are planning to organize an exhibition of stained glass art called The Iconostasis of Light at the Church of Saint Sava and I want to invite everyone to visit it.

Milos Vlahovic

Ambasada Republike Poljske Beograd

The Orbis Hotel Group Poland

GTC Business Park Beograd

Solaris Bus Poljska

Rafako Engineering Solution Doo Beograd

Fabryka Kotlow RAFAKO S.A. Poland

Tele-Fonika Cable Americas

Fabrika kablova a.d. Zaječar, FKZ Zaječar

POL-MOT Holding S.A. Warszawa

POL-MOT Development Beograd

Asseco South Eastern Europe Warszawa

ASEE Solutions doo Beograd

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Jugoslovenska kinoteka Beograd

Tomasz Niegodzisz

Reserved

CCC

4F

Ziaja

Inglot

Eveline

Dr Irena Eris

Tele fonika

Zajecar cable factory

Polish investments in Serbia

economic exchange between Serbia and Poland

Ana Brnabic

Beata Szydlo

PolishSerbian Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation

World Bank Doing Business list

National Bank of Poland

GDP

Polish Investment and Trade Agency

EU funds

Witold Gombrowicz

Cosmos

Frederic Chopin

Belgrade Chopin Fest

Andrzej Wajda

stained glass exhibition Iconostasis of Light

from an ambassadors angle