Djuric: The conference in Riyadh is an excellent opportunity to present Serbia

Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, stated today that Serbia’s participation in the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh, which brings together more than 40 world leaders and leading figures from the fields of science, technology, and business, allows Serbia to keep pace with the most advanced global trends in economics, geopolitics, and artificial intelligence.

Djuric said that artificial intelligence is a major topic at the Riyadh conference because everyone is thinking about how to reconnect a fragmented world and polarized societies in which human interaction is increasingly rare, as well as how capital can become a tool for reducing tensions through the application of these technologies.

“Besides this general framework, this is a fantastic opportunity for meetings. I have just concluded a meeting with the Director General of Expo in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, apart from being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, is organizing Expo 2030, and we discussed how we can cooperate to ensure that both Expos, the one in Serbia and the one in Saudi Arabia, are as successful as possible. This country, in addition to its great material resources, attracts a large number of talents from around the world, people from various industries who, thanks to their expertise, contribute to the development of the Expo. For us, it is a great opportunity to build a partnership with the Expo here. I look forward to the overall development of our relations with Saudi Arabia, which is one of the leading countries in the Islamic world,” Djuric emphasized.

He added that Serbia’s presence in Riyadh is very important.

“Serbia is undoubtedly one of the most attractive investment destinations, not only in the Balkans but also in Southeast Europe, given that we are centrally located, have a huge pool of talent, and possess a broad regulatory framework that allows the creation of scientific and technological ecosystems, which perhaps do not exist in other European countries. Because of that, we can proudly say that Serbia today has an economy structured in such a way that new technologies are already surpassing agriculture in GDP share, while at the same time we are a country with modern data centers, such as the one in Kragujevac, which is a state-owned data center but is used by some of the world’s largest companies. It is no coincidence that some of the biggest companies, such as Microsoft, Oracle, and even automotive companies like Rivian, are developing their products in Serbia, because we have both talent and a regulatory framework that makes this possible,” Djuric said.

He added that Serbia will continue to use technology, knowledge, and science as tools to bridge the gap between Serbia and the most developed countries, emphasizing that participation in this forum is not only an opportunity to showcase Serbia’s potential, but also to establish new contacts, identify emerging trends, and position Serbia in the best possible way.

Djuric noted that among the younger generation, at schools and universities in Serbia, as well as within the scientific community, there are individuals who are recognized globally as serious and prominent experts. He said that Serbia’s development opportunity lies in applying science and technology more vigorously across different sectors of life.

The Minister particularly emphasized that he welcomes the overall development of relations between Serbia and Saudi Arabia, as well as the opportunity to present Serbia at numerous meetings as it truly is, and it is a country that leads in the application and development of modern technologies.