Henk van den Dool, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia - The Netherlands is the greatest foreign investor in Serbia, over EUR 6 billion invested since 2005

The latest figures from the Serbian Central Bank make it clear that since 2005 enterprises from the Netherlands have invested over 6 billion euros in Serbia. I’m proud to say that this makes my country the largest foreign investor in Serbia by now – says Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia Henk van den Dool in his interview for eKapija.

– Whether we talk about customer support, ICT or tourism, I expect to see more growth. Serbia and The Netherlands are certainly able to do more, and we are actively working with our partners from Serbia on creating conditions for improvement of economic ties – adds Van den Dool, with whom we’ve talked about the economic cooperation of our two countries, as well as about the possibilities of increasing investments and trade.

eKapija: How do you see the economic and diplomatic relations between our two countries?

The political relationship between Serbia and the Netherlands has developed positively in recent years. We’ve seen growing mutual understanding and an increase in bilateral visits on a political level. For a large part this is due to Serbia’s solid EU-orientation. The Netherlands is a staunch supporter of Serbia’s European ambitions in words as well as in deeds, and Serbia appreciates this partnership.

In the past few years we’re also observing increased interest of Dutch companies for Serbia. There are encouraging developments in energy, energy efficiency, ICT and water technologies, but also in textile and shipbuilding. Bilateral trade is growing steadily, at the rate of about 7-10% annually. The latest figures from the Serbian Central Bank make it clear that since 2005 enterprises from the Netherlands have invested over 6 billion euros in Serbia. I’m proud to say that this makes my country the largest foreign investor in Serbia by now!

On a more “human level”: I see that many young people in Serbia have very positive feelings about The Netherlands, while at the same time I bump into Dutch tourist on the streets of Belgrade on a daily basis. One should never underestimate the importance of people-to-people contacts; they are the best way of exchanging common values and getting to know each other.

eKapija: Where do you see room for improvement of these relations?

Although I am really happy about what we’ve already reached, there is ample space to bring mutual trade and investment to an even significantly higher level. The Netherlands is one of the main traders of goods, services and commodities, the second largest exporter of agricultural goods and the 18th largest economy in the world. Serbia has much underused potential. Our mutual economic relations will significantly increase once Serbia has created a truly investor friendly climate, has reformed the judiciary and has tackled the red tape and corruption issues that are slowing down the country’s development. State-of-the-art agriculture and food production, water management (flood control, drainage and irrigation), waterway logistics –water is a transportation channel of which the potential for this region is seriously underestimated! –energy-efficiency, inland water shipbuilding and IT are promising areas.

Let me repeat that our political relations are based on a shared commitment to Serbia’s EU integration. As Serbia moves forward on the European path and continued reforms are undertaken in the process of EU integration, our countries will be even more intertwined politically as well as economically.

eKapija: What was Serbia importing from the Netherlands and what was it exporting?

Export-Import trends of Serbia and the Netherlands are quite constant and relatively stable in terms of types of goods and services exchanged. We traded with various construction and production materials, manufactured goods, agricultural products, food and live animals, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transport equipment, ships, chemical products, custom-made software and other ICT services. I definitely see more room for growth in services. At one side Serbian people and companies are demonstrating significant growth and ability to deliver high-quality services, while on the other hand our market always remains open for new high-quality services at lower costs.

Whether we talk about customer support, ICT or tourism – I expect to see more growth and value created. Serbia and The Netherlands are certainly able to do more, and we are actively working with our partners form Serbia on creating conditions for improvement of economic ties.

eKapija: What is the interest of Dutch companies for investing in Serbia, how often are you contacted by entrepreneurs for an advice on how to enter the Serbian market?

We are in touch with Dutch companies on a daily basis – and quite often we also assist Serbian companies who are seeking to reach the Dutch market and Dutch partners. Obviously, there are also many Dutch companies that were and still are present at the local market without being in touch with the embassy. At the moment and according to the Serbian Business registry, around 450 Dutch companies are operating in Serbia. We are in touch with about 20% of them.

Companies that are still in The Netherlands approach usoften. We are doing our best to help them to make their first step in Serbia and to understand the market. We have already developed four different brochures/guidebooks for doing business in Serbia, financing business in Serbia, dealing with the Customs’ procedures, and understanding Serbia’s energy market. That sort of information proves to be very helpful for our entrepreneurs.

eKapija: Which areas are the most interesting to the Dutch companies when it comes to investments in Serbia?

Nowadays in Serbia Dutch companies are the leaders in animal feed production, shipbuilding and brewing. Next to that, we are very strong in ICT and trade. And we are huge in retail: you must be aware that recently Dutch Ahold merged with Belgian Delhaize and became the majority shareholder. The Dutch and the Belgians together are now behind the largest Serbian retail chain and are employing in that sector alone over 11,000 employees!Add that to the numbers employed by other Dutch companies in Serbia and you will see that Dutch investors have so far created well over 15,000 in this country.

eKapija: Can we announce some new companies that are planning on doing business in Serbia?

Serbian media are often announcing the arrival of new foreign and Dutch companies. We do expect to see some new names and brands soon, but we prefer companies to come up with the announcement first. In order to attract more Dutch companies it is important that the experiences of those that are already here are positive. Luckily in most of the cases the experiences are positive indeed, and this is good for Serbia. However, some companies – be they foreign or domestic - are still facing red tape and other problems. In marketing, it is known that negative information travels way faster than positive news, and companies often refer to each other when it comes to comparing business environments. This is why it is very important that the Serbian Government keeps up with the reforms and continues to improve the business environment. Many actors are important in this process, including the Ministry for Public Administration and the Chamber of Commerce.It is promising that both institutions are introducing new digital platforms for businesses in the respective sectors they are in charge of.

(Photo: Edhar/shutterstock.com)

eKapija: Can we announce some new activities of the Embassy of the Netherlands, in which way are you promoting the Netherlands in our country?

We promote the Netherlands and the cooperation between the Netherlands and Serbia in many ways. For example, we support initiatives that bring Dutch experts and culture to Serbia and such initiatives are numerous. In 2016 audiences in Serbia already had a chance to get familiar with the work of some great Dutch artists and experts during various festivals and event - NederlandsDans Theatre and JiříKylián at the Belgrade Dance Festival, the famous saxophone player Yuri Honing at Nisville, Richard van der Larken (What Design Can Do) at Mikser, Waag Society at FABelgrade conference, and many more.

Serbia and the Netherlands have a common history. In order to celebrate that, we have initiated a series of brochures shedding light on aspects of the Dutch-Serbian heritage – Jenny Merkus, Arius van Tienhoven, Serbian soldiers in the WWI, Jacob Colyer.

However, the biggest promotion of the Netherlands and its policies was the Orange Week we organised end of June to mark the end of the Dutch EU Council Presidency. Over 4,500 people attended the events during the Orange Week - film screenings, an evening of Dutch cuisine, a photo-exhibition, a mass bike ride, an “orange party”. And in a way the Orange Week still continues, since we are transferring part of its program to Vrsac and Kovin, we are working on a Dutch mural in Belgrade, while orange roses were planted on the promenade by the sport centre Milan Gale Muskatirovic .

For the next year we are planning a number of other interesting activities. I can already announcea performance of the Dutch Introdans on 29 March 2017 at Sava Centre during the Belgrade Dance Festival.

eKapija: How much is life in Serbia different than life in the Netherlands?

The differences are in the details: the food, the humour, the customs. What strikes me most, however, are the similarities and what we have in common. I’ve come to know Serbians as welcoming, open, and business-minded.

eKapija: What is the difference in the business culture? Did something exceptionally surprise you?

Dutch and Serbian businesspeople are similar and different at the same time. Serbians can often be very direct in business negotiations, making the lives of their Dutch counterparts much easier. Dutch are known as honest and direct people, both in business and private relations. What very often surprises Dutch businesspeople is that Serbian business lunches can stretch for hours and usually involve lots of good wine and beer, several dishes and the unavoidable barbeque. A standard Dutch business lunch would mean a cheese sandwich and a glass of milk in less than 30 minutes. Serbian and Dutch businesspeople meeting for the first time could be surprised about each other when it comes to this, but I have to say that the Dutch are generally quick and happy to adapt to the Serbian way of business luncheons. In general, joint ventures of Dutch and Serbian people are very successful, bringing the best of both cultures.

Jelena Djelic

Ambasada Kraljevine Holandije Beograd

Delhaize Serbia d.o.o. Beograd

Ministarstvo državne uprave i lokalne samouprave Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Ahold Zaandam Netherlands

Delhaize group Belgija