Political relations
Bilateral relations are good, with well-developed economic cooperation and a significant intensification of political dialogue in the recent period. Both sides are committed to further strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation into additional areas. The year 2026 marks the 135th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Political consultations between the two countries’ ministries of foreign affairs have been held regularly at the level of Assistant Ministers responsible for bilateral cooperation since 2021. The most recent political consultations were held in The Hague on 26 September 2025.
Minister of Foreign affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selaković payed a visit to the Netherlands, 29-30th November 2021, in the year in which the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was also marked. The visit was important for the promotion of political dialogue, thanks to the exchange of views on all relevant topics of mutual interest. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Steff Blok, paid a visit to the Republic of Serbia on 4 November 2019, which was assessed by Serbia as an incentive for further improvement of cooperation.
The first political consultations, at the level of Assistant Minister for Bilateral Cooperation, were held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, in video format, on 14 January 2021. The second political consultations at the level of the Assistant for Bilateral Cooperation are being held in Belgrade, on March 17th, 2022.
Both sides showed the will to establish the practice of regular political consultations.
The Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands have had accredited heads of diplomatic missions since 1899, first with headquarters in the neighbouring countries (the Dutch Mission in Bucharest, the Serbian Mission in London), while the Kingdom of the Netherlands already had a consul general in Belgrade in 1891.
The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, visited The Hague on 13–14 May 2025. She met with the Presidents of both Houses of the Dutch Parliament. Meetings were also held with members of the Dutch Parliament’s Committees on Foreign Affairs and European Affairs.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Đurić visited The Hague on 3–4 February 2025, where he met with the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Caspar Veldkamp. Separate meetings were also held with members of the Committee on European Affairs of the House of Representatives, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, and the Secretary-General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). In addition, Minister Đurić delivered a lecture at the Clingendael Institute and met with representatives of Dutch companies.
Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starović visited the Netherlands on 5 December 2025 and met with Henk Bakker, Director-General for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The then Minister of European Integration, Tanja Miščević, visited The Hague on 10 June 2024, where she held meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Director-General for European Affairs Annelies van den Ende, at the Prime Minister’s Office with Diplomatic Adviser S. Fazili, and with two Members of Parliament, T. van Campen (VVD) and I. Kahraman (NSC).
In 2023, she visited The Hague twice, on 5–6 June and 6 September. During her June 2023 visit, she met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Annelies van den Ende, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Diplomatic Adviser Fazili, and members of the Committee on European Affairs of the House of Representatives. At the Clingendael Institute, she attended a closed-door roundtable discussion and addressed representatives of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Members of Parliament, experts and journalists.
The then Minister of European Integration, Tanja Miščević, visited The Hague again on 6 September 2023 to secure Dutch support for the continuation of the European integration process of the Republic of Serbia, particularly the opening of Cluster 3.
The then Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Tomislav Žigmanov, visited The Hague to participate in a ministerial meeting marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), on 15 May 2024. On that occasion, he also attended a reception hosted by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
The then Minister of Justice, Maja Popović, visited The Hague from 30 November to 6 December 2022, where she met with officials of several judicial institutions headquartered in The Hague.
The then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Selaković, visited the Netherlands on 29–30 November 2021 and held talks with the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ben Knapen, R. Brekelmans, a Member of Parliament from the ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals Carmel Agius, and Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz.
President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, visited The Hague on 21 November 2023, where he met with representatives of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and NLinBusiness.
As part of a visit by the Benelux Prime Ministers, the then Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, paid his first visit to the Republic of Serbia on 3–4 July 2023.
The then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Stef Blok, visited the Republic of Serbia on 4 November 2019.
Economic relations
Economic relations between the two countries are good and there is an interest in their further improvement.
According to the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, total trade in goods with the Netherlands in 2025 amounted to EUR 1.3 billion, of which exports from the Serbia accounted for EUR 0.5 billion, while imports amounted to EUR 0.8 billion.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands ranks first on the list of countries with the largest investments in Serbia, in the period from 2010 to the first half of 2020, when inflows from investments amounted to 4,153 billion euros. The Netherlands is in the group of top 20 trading partners, both in terms of exports and in terms of imports.
Dutch companies that are the largest investors in the Republic of Serbia are: Heineken, Royal Agrifirm Group, Exlrt d.o.o; VNB Knitting (textile industry, Grdelica), Woody World, Vahali (shipbuilding, Kladovo), Shipyard Kladovo, Roual de Heus (food industry, Šabac), Affidea Diagnostics, Seveplant (food industry, Kula).
Bilateral agreements
A total of 25 bilateral agreements are in force., the most important of which are as follows:
Agreement on the Consolidation of the Contractual Situation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands (28 February 2002),
Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Benelux Countries on Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports (21 December 2006; The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – International Treaties No. 102/07),
Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Lucrative Activity of Dependent Family Members of Diplomatic and Consular Missions (7 June 2010; The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – International Treaties No. 12/10),
Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Governments of the Benelux Countries (the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands) on the Implementation of the Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the European Community on Readmission of Persons Residing without Authorisation (25 January 2013), and
Agreed Minutes of the Joint Serbian-Dutch Committee for International Road Transport (26 September 2019).
Contact information
The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the Hague (the Netherlands): https://thehague.mfa.gov.rs.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Belgrade (Serbia): https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/countries/serbia/about-us/embassy-in-belgrade.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia – Department for Europe: tel. 00 381 (0) 11 30 68 274, e-mail: oev@mfa.rs.