Djurdjevic: Agreement on connecting creative industries a “warm-up” for more significant Berlin process topicsnije teme Berlinskog procesa

Nenad Djurdjevic, Advisor to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, stated that the declaration in the field of creative industries recently signed by representatives of the Western Balkans is a "warm-up" for the upcoming Berlin Process summit, which will take place this autumn in the United Kingdom.

“The declaration signed on cooperation in the field of creative industries is clearly the first official document and initiative organized by London. It has brought together participants from the Western Balkans and the Berlin Process around a topic that is perhaps just a ‘warm-up’ for more difficult and serious issues to come,” Djurdjevic told Kosovo Online.

He explained that the term “creative industries” encompasses a wide range of various services, primarily provided by small and medium-sized enterprises operating in fields such as film, cultural events, and the IT industry.

“In that regard, Serbia is leading in the Western Balkans, and not only in this region. Our export of IT services has surpassed the export of agricultural products — and we know that Serbia is an agricultural country and takes pride in that,” Djurdjevic explained.

Regarding the memorandum signed in London, he added that there is no additional information on how regional networking in the creative industries sector will actually be implemented.

“It is interesting that the British Council is part of this arrangement, and that encourages me — not only because the declaration was signed, but also because the programs the British Council is running in all these countries will continue to develop. What has often been a weakness and a vulnerable point of the Berlin Process is that many of the agreements or declarations signed at summits were not implemented, or if they were, it was only to a limited extent,” Djurdjevic noted.

When asked how the Open Balkan initiative could contribute to this process, the CCIS expert emphasized that activities achieved so far through this initiative could be beneficial.

“The spirit of Open Balkan and the declarations that were the foundation of that initiative can also be implemented within the Berlin Process — if there is a will to do so. Certain measures have been adopted, laws passed, and that is a positive legacy. For us, cooperation in the area of bio-sanitary and veterinary certificates, border crossing, recognition of various documents, and deeper alignment with Albania, including the opening of the labor market, is of great importance,” Djurdjevic concluded.