A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed recently in Doha to facilitate the recruitment of Serbian professionals to work in Qatar, the Serbian Ambassador Jasminko Pozerac told Gulf Times.
A senior delegation from Serbia's Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy visited Qatar in October and met HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Yousef bin Mohamed al-Othman Fakhro and discussed the issues related to employing more Serbian professionals and a MoU was accordingly signed to make the process more easier.
Pozerac stressed that Qatar as a work place enjoys an excellent reputation among Serbians and many highly-skilled professionals would seek employment here, due to the positive feedback about the country by their compatriots who work in various sectors in Qatar.
He said that there are currently around 2,500 Serbian professionals working in Qatar and since he assumed his post as the first ambassador of Serbia to Qatar more than three years ago, he never heard anything but positive from them regarding their life and work in the country.
The same official delegation also met the vice-chairman of Qatar Chamber to discuss the possibility of enhancing mutual business opportunities and investments in both countries.
"During this meeting, we explored many possible operations in trade and investment. Serbia is a promising market, in particular for tourism and agriculture production. Qatari investors are welcome to invest in these areas and others and both Qatar embassy in Serbia and the embassy of Serbia in Qatar are in constant contact to facilitate such potential businesses," he said.
The ambassador explained that the tourist sector in Serbia is growing very rapidly with 60% increase in the number of tourists visiting the country in 2018 compared to the previous year. This created a need for more luxury spas and resorts and other expansions in the industry, where Qatari investors are welcome to explore with free-hold property. He also stressed that it could be a unique destination for Qatari tourists, where they can enjoy the richness of culture and nature with four distinct seasons a year. He stressed that the Serbian villages offers tourists great experiences.
"Besides, the agriculture sector in Serbia has huge potential for profitable investment and foreign investors can benefit from such a lucrative market as it has easy access to the European markets, where Serbian agriculture products are exported," recommended Pozerac.
He said that due to the growing reputation of Qatar as a successful host and organisers of various international sports events, it has become a well-known household name in Serbia. A delegation from the Olympic Committee of Serbia has met with its counterparts in Doha and discussed co-operation in areas of mutual interest.
FK Partizan Belgrade, a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, is coming to Qatar during February 1-10 next year for the first time for training and will play some matches with some local and other international teams.
In the culture field, Pozerac said that he will plan to bring more Serbian troupes to Qatar to perform and display the various aspics of Serbian arts and culture.
"Serbia and Qatar have great potential for co-operation not only in the political and economic fields but also at the level of people to people relations. I am sure we will have much deeper relations in the future and I have big expectations in this regard," the envoy added.
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