BUGARIN: Negotiations with Iran about agreement on free trade

- Serbia is negotiating about signing of the agreement on free trade with Iran, which protects its market with high duties, so that the signing of that agreement would make the access for our products significantly easier. If the agreement is reached, it is expected that Iran will lower high duties on import of goods from current 150 or even 200% to 4%. Also, the increase in scope of exchange of goods with Lybia, as well as with the countries of North Africa and Middle East, is in the pipeline - Miloš Bugarin, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, said yesterday.

He reminded that the value of exchange of goods between Serbia and Iran had reached 7.4m USD in the first three months of year 2009, which was 47% less than in the same period in 2008, while Serbia registered surplus of 30.4m USD (the list of exported articles includes buses, tractor engines, spare parts, cardboard..., while Iran exports pistachios, raw zinc, iron, motor oils...).

Bugarin has, also, reminded that the National Exhibition of Serbian Economy, which will be opened on Sunday (May 24, 2009) in Minsk, will gather 74 companies - building companies, manufacturers of building materials, agricultural complexes and food industry, consumer goods, furniture manufacturers.

- That is an indication of new forms of cooperation between the two countries, of which result should be the growth of foreign-trade exchange with Belarus that reached 58m USD in 2008. Sebia gets new market by signing the agreement on free trade. I expect that we will reach the level of exchange of goods from the 1990's, which used to exceed 200m USD, in the following years - Bugarin pointed out.