Political relations
Bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and the United Kingdom are assessed as good, level of cooperation is most pronounced in the field of security policy and defence. The Republic of Serbia and the United Kingdom, were allies in both world wars, had the opportunity to mark a significant jubilee in 2022 – 185 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
PR A. Vučić held bilateral talks with British Prime Minister R. Sunak on the sidelines of the 3rd EPC in Granada, October 5, 2023.
PM A. Brnabić met with the former Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly in London, Jun 13, 2023.
PM A. Brnabić had a bilateral meeting with the former Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly on the sidelines of the Berlin Process Summit, in Berlin, November 3, 2022.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dačić met with Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly in the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in the city of Lodz, Poland, December 1, 2022.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić spoke with the British Minister of State for Europe Leo Docherty in Belgrade, December 14, 2022 and September 27, 2023.
The former MFA N. Selaković visited London, 13-14 December 2021 and participated in the meeting of the Foreign Ministry of the Western Balkans.
PR A. Vučić visited Glasgow, 1 - 3 November 2021 and participated in the UN Conference on Climate Change COP 26.
President of the National Assembly I. Dačić visited Glasgow, 5-8 November 2021 and participated in the Conference of UN Member States on Climate Change IPU Parliamentary Meeting.
Economic relations
In 2022, foreign trade amounted to 713, 2 million EUR (Serbian exports were 296, 48 million EUR, import 416, 73 million EUR). In 2021, foreign trade amounted to 623 millions EUR (Serbian exports were 357 million EUR, import 266 million EUR). Net direct investments of the United Kingdom in Serbia since 2010 by the second quarter of 2020, amounted to a total of 627 million euros, which took the 13th place on the list of countries with the largest investments in the Republic of Serbia.
Some of the largest UK investors in the Republic of Serbia are: British-American Tobacco, which privatized the Tobacco Industry Vranje (2013), the company Endava in the IT sector (2015), Agena Technology in Šimanovci, a factory that produces parts for the automotive industry (2005), Poseidon real estate in Belgrade, DS Smith packaging industry in Kruševac, investment fund MidEuropaPartners, majority owner of the private health system MediGroup (2018), Aptiv Packard produces electrical installations for the automotive industry, which has a factory in Novi Sad (2015) and Leskovac (2019), and in November 2019 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the Republic of Serbia, which implies the opening of a factory in Zaječar. On 5 December 2019, a commercial contract was signed with Behtel Enka UK Limited for the construction of the Pojate—Preljina section of the Morava Corridor highway, with a total length of 112 km.
Bilateral agreements
A total of 23 agreements with the UK are in force, and some of the most important bilateral agreements are:
Agreement on Mutual Extradition of Convicts between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Date of signing, ratification and entry into force: 6 December 1900 and 25 January 1901; Trade Agreement between the Government of Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom. Date of signing, ratification and entry into force: 27 November 1936 and 18 June 1937; Agreement on Air Services (between the FPRY and the Great Britain). Date of signing, ratification and entry into force: 3 February 1959 and 30 September 1959; Agreement between the SFRY and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the avoidance of double taxation concerning taxes on income. Date of signing, ratification and entry into force: 6 November 1981, 15 July 1982, 16 September 1982; Agreement between the FR Yugoslavia and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on cooperation in the field of education, science, culture and sports. Date of signing, ratification and entry into force: 6 November 2002, 30 January 2003, 27 August 2003.
Contact information
The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in London: http://www.london.mfa.gov.rs/
The Embassy of UK in Belgrade: https://www.gov.uk/organisations/british-embassy-belgrade.sr.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia – Department for Europe (DE). tel. 00 381 (0) 11 30 68 326; e-mail: oev@mfa.rs.