Dusko Karagic, head of Economic Office at Hungarian Embassy in Belgrade - Ecologist in diplomacy

(Dusko Karagic)

When Dusko Karagic, head of the Economic Office at the Hungarian Embassy to Belgrade, came to the capital city of Serbia, he thought that the construction of playgrounds for kids would be a profitable business because they were quite rare and old at the time.

- Over the last two years, the situation has changed and improved significantly – says Karagic.

Today, when all playgrounds are renovated, he enjoys working and living in Vracar with his wife and two sons.

Belgrade has won him over with its kind, direct and friendly citizens who are always ready to help.

Although Dusko Karagic was born in Hungary, he speaks Serbian fluently, mainly thanks to his parents and their wish to keep the tradition alive and not to forget the roots.

He did not even dream of becoming a diplomat. He first studied ecology and then economics. Karagic, who once worked in the economy sector, today runs the Economic Office at the Hungarian Embassy in Belgrade.

- I was born in Sopron, a city in western Hungary, situated at the border with Austria. Dusan is a more famous name in hungary, but I haven't met another Dusko yet. When I turned three, we moved to Budapest, where I completed primary and secondary Serbian-Croatian school because my parents wanted me to master the language and believed it would be useful for my education. After that I started studying ecology in Zagreb. Having graduated from the faculty, I started working for Hungarian companies because I knew the language. I later also earned a degree in International Relations at the Faculty of Economics in Budapest - Karagic says and adds that his knowledge of engineering and ecology helps him a lot.

His career was marked by Hungary's economic relations with countries in our region, which is why he applied for the position at the Economic Office of the Hungarian Embassy to Belgrade.

- The foreign trade between Serbia and Hungary was bigger in 2011 than in previous years. A chance to improve the cooperation between the two countries lies in the fields of agriculture, energy, automotive industry and tourism. The door of our office are open to companies from both Hungary and Serbia - says our interlocutor.

When his friends from abroad come to visit him, they love to go sightseeing the city, spend a night on the town and visit festivals such as Beer Fest.

- I usually take my business partners to restaurants where music is not loud, but I don't like overfancy places serving small portions on big plates either - Karagic admits jokingly.

Although he has a lot of obligations, he always has time to play basketball or football with their colleagues from the Embassy, go skiing, read historical novels and professional literature.

M.K.