Presidents of Serbia, Equatorial Guinea: Time for a New Era in Bilateral Ties

(BETAPHOTO/Dimitrije Goll)

The presidents of Serbia and Equatorial Guinea, Aleksandar Vucic and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo respectively, in Belgrade on Nov. 26 said the time had come for a new era of bilateral economic relations, pointing to a number of unused potential for economic cooperation, primarily in agriculture and tourism.

Speaking at a round table titled “Serbia and Equatorial Guinea – partnership for the future,” organized for the visit of Equatorial Guinea’s state and business delegation, Vucic said that the Serbia should expand its exports to include African markets, stressing that the state would assist companies in these activities.

Vucic also said that IT companies in Serbia had been reporting significant growth in the past few years and should take the opportunity to export services and invest in Equatorial Guinea. “It is important that a decision has been made on setting up a two countries’ mixed commission, and also important is our ministers’ visit. In Serbia, we cherish special love to African people and African countries. We have loved Africa since the Non-Aligned Movement era. I am sure you can feel it here wherever you go,” Vucic said.

The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, said he was expecting to see development of economic cooperation with Serbia, primarily in the exchange of know-how and good practices.  

The business forums was attended by representatives of 20 companies from Serbia and eight from Equatorial Guinea. In 2023, bilateral trade stood at USD5.68 million, four times the value reported the year before. Serbia’s export was worth USD5.6 million, while the value of import was insignificant. In the first nine months of 2024, bilateral trade amounted to USD2.36 million, a drop of 56 percent year-on-year.