Political relations
The bilateral relations between the two countries are good and a constructive dialogue is being maintained with the aim of better mutual understanding and further improvement of cooperation.
The political dialogue has been improved and intensified during recent years. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković visited, for the first time in eight years, Belgium on 16th of September 2021. A practice of maintaining political consultations at the level of Assistant Ministers for bilateral cooperation has been established between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, which were held for the first time in Brussels (2018), and then in Belgrade (2019). The latest political consultations, led from our side by the Assistant Minister for Bilateral Cooperation, Ambassador Vladimir Marić, were held in Brussels on February 25th 2022.
Diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Belgium were established in 1886.
Economic relations
Economic cooperation between the two countries is mainly implemented through trade in goods and in this regard there is room for its further development. In 2021 the total trade in goods amounted to 886,42 million euros (export 267,50 euros and import 618,92 million euros). During 2020 trade in goods amounted to 668 million euros (export 198,9 million euros, and import 469,1 million euros).
According to data from the National Bank of Serbia, earnings based on investments by Belgian residents in the Republic of Serbia for the period from 2010 to June 2019 amounted to 91.5 million euros, where Belgium reached 30th place among countries with the highest net investments by non-residents in the Republic of Serbia.
Based on data from the Serbian Business Registrars Agency, by 3 June 2020 there were 109 business entities registered in Serbia under majority ownership by Belgian companies or natural persons of Belgian nationality, including: Delhaize, Minel-Schraider, BLOCKX, KENZAI GROUP (Carpetland), СОРА HOME, Uradi sam, etc.
Bilateral agreements
There are 29 bilateral agreements in force, with the most important being:
- Agreement between the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of Belgium on the avoidance of double taxation of income and property (21 November 1980; The Official Gazette of SFRY, No. 11/1981);
- Agreement between the Federal Government of the Republic of Yugoslavia and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Government of the Kingdom of Netherlands on the return and acceptance of persons that do not comply or no longer comply with the conditions for entering or residing within the territory of other contracting states (19 July 2002; The Official Gazette of FRY – International Agreements, No. 12/2002),
- Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and governments of Benelux countries on eliminating visas for holders of diplomatic and official passports (21 December 2006; The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia - International Agreements, No. 102/07);
- Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and Kingdom of Belgium on performing lucrative activities and certain members of families of the personnel of diplomatic and consular representative offices (17 February 2010, The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia - International Agreements, No. 12/10), and
- Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Belgium on social security (15 July 2010; The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia - International Agreements, No. 12/10).
Contact information
During your stay in the Kingdom of Belgium, for consular assistance and protection you may contact the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Brussels, at the following telephone numbers: 00 322 / 64 72 652, 64 75 781, 64 96 545, 64 98 349, or e-mail: srb.emb.belgium@mfa.rs.