"Direct flights between Belgrade and Tokyo will be established in the next six months"

He pointed out that Japanese ambassador to Serbia Akira Imamura is consistent in his attempts to bring Japan closer to Serbia, adding that the trade exchange between the two countries is worth less than 350 million euros, but that there will be an opportunity to increase it in the future

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that Air Serbia will establish direct flights on the Belgrade-Tokyo route in the next six months and pointed out that connecting with Japan is of greatest importance for Serbia.

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"We will do our best to establish this route in the next six months," Vucic told a Serbia-Japan business forum and called on representatives of Japanese companies to visit Serbia more often.

He added that he and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali discussed introducing three new direct flights from Belgrade, one of them to Tokyo.

Vucic said that in the last 12 years, for the first time in history, Serbia has a stable exchange rate of the dinar, and that in terms of incentives and subsidies for Japanese companies, it can be compared with the best countries not only in Europe, but also in the wider region.

"Of course, there are also issues that we have to devote ourselves more to, and I hope that we will be able to do that, such as the rule of law and the judicial system," said Vucic.

He added that at the same time the geopolitical situation is not easy, but that it can turn into an advantage from an investment point of view when it comes to those who might invest in our country, and stressed that Serbia will maintain peace and stability in the region and maintain good relations with everyone.

"This does not mean that we support everyone, we know what we condemn, what we support, and on the other hand, we are not cutting ties with everyone," said Vucic.

He pointed out that Japanese ambassador to Serbia Akira Imamura is consistent in his attempts to bring Japan closer to Serbia, adding that the trade exchange between the two countries worth is less than 350 million euros, but that there will be an opportunity to increase it in the future.

Vucic said that he learned a lot when he visited Japan 13 years ago and that he is probably one of the few politicians in the world who knows more about Japanese history and geography than politicians from Japan's neighboring countries.

"I learned a lot about your morals, history, your hard, dedicated work and the progress of your country. I visited several companies, including Toyota, near Nagoya, but also in other places. I went to Hiroshima and saw that Mazda is the most popular car in that part of Japan, because everyone prefers their local manufacturers," said Vucic.

The president also recalled his visit to Toyota when, he says he saw how dedicated Japanese workers are.

"They didn't even look at me, they didn't even want to see me, because they were so focused on their work. And I waited 20 minutes, just to catch their eye, but it didn't happen. I also used your wonderful railway network and then I said to myself, 'These people are invincible, you can't do anything against this country. They have something that we will never have'," Vucic went on.

He also said that the Serbs have been frustrated for centuries by the fact that Serbia is landlocked, but that he is happy about that "because our people do not wait for the nature to brings them gifts."

"They started to understand that they must work hard, act responsibly in order for the country to progress. And we are progressing a little better and a little faster than the others. And with a larger Japanese presence, the sky is the limit. We can achieve all our goals, we can achieve all our dreams," said Vucic.

He added that the RHE "Bistrica" project will bring more experience to Japanese companies in Serbia and added that he is happy that Serbia received a loan, evaluating it as a signal from the Japanese government.

"Whatever you need in this country, we will do our best to prove ourselves as a reliable partner and we will not act irresponsibly, we have big dreams," stated the president.

He added that he would like to visit the Expo in Osaka next year, stating that he will not submit "requests and pleas" for high-level meetings, but that the Serbian delegation wants to visit that event and learn from their experience.

"We have already sent a delegation, as you know, they learned a lot, they brought those experiences back with them to Serbia and we think we can learn a lot from everything you have already achieved," said Vucic and recalled that Serbia supported Osaka's candidacy.

"I hope you will have a significant presence here at Expo 2027 in Serbia. We're all a bit nervous because we have to get a lot done before the end of 2026, and you know how difficult that can be because we have to literally change the look of the country, bring a lot of infrastructure here to the country. I hope and assume that we will do it successfully with a large presence and support of Japanese companies," said Vucic.

After President Vucic's address, the forum continued with a presentation of Japanese companies.

President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Marko Cadez previously said at the opening of the event that 125 Serbian companies are participating in it.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)