By Staff Correspondent
Sanjay Soni, the Managing Director of Hughes Precision Manufacturing represented the domestic industry as head of the Indian business delegation at the India-Serbia Business Forum in Belgrade. The forum was hosted jointly by President of India Droupadi Murmu and her Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić. The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež, were also present at the forum which marked a significant milestone in the evolving relationship between the two nations.
During his address, Soni said the bilateral visit symbolises the growing recognition of India’s pivotal role in the global economy. The country has a GDP of $3.7 trillion and a young, aspirational population of 1.4 billion, he emphasised.
Under the G20 presidency, Soni highlighted that India is keen to pursue an agenda centred on equitable and sustainable growth, bolstering its strong cultural and economic ties with East European and South East European nations.
He expressed his appreciation of the deep-rooted bonds of friendship between India and Serbia, viewing Serbia as a crucial partner in India’s future growth trajectory. As the managing director of a leading Indian ammunition company, Soni reflected on the consistent rise in India’s manufacturing capabilities, serving not only the domestic but also the global markets. He highlighted the promising potential to enhance India-Serbia trade and economic relations.
“We have several top Indian companies operating in Serbia, engaged in defence, entertainment, agricultural equipment, engineering, automobiles, cables real estate construction and pharmaceuticals further. The synergies between the two countries emerge in the technological transformation. Geared towards greater transparency efficiency and citizen centricity of governance,” remarked Soni.
This wide-ranging involvement underlines the opportunities for further collaboration and synergies, particularly as Serbia strengthens its technological capabilities, infrastructure development, and sustainability initiatives. Concluding his address, Soni expressed his hope that this visit would cement people-to-people and business ties between India and Serbia.
“Serbia can become an effective, great gateway for Indian companies to access wider markets in, Europe, Asia, and Eurasia. All of this indicates the large potential for India, survey trade and investment. You are therefore, in a moment of opportunity and we must take advantage of it. It is also time to eliminate the information gap between our two countries, a better understanding of each other’s capabilities, will help us to discover effective alternate supply sources to meet our requirements. We must have more frequent trade and business interactions like today,” highlighted the Indian President, setting the stage for the road ahead.
