The 1st Anniversary of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC) was held on May 21, 2015, in the restaurant “Franš” in Belgrade, gathering approx. 70 guests, including SSCC members and representatives of Swiss-Serbian public institutions, such as the Embassy of Switzerland in Belgrade, Government of Serbia, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia, Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia, and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, among other.
Ms. Ana Grujovic, SSCC’s Executive director, presented a short overview of achieved results of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce over the past year. Namely, since its inauguration in April 2014, SSCC has gathered over 50 members, initiated the public-private dialogue, created a strong network of institutional partners in both Switzerland and Serbia, but has also provided practical support to companies with a view of increasing their competitiveness and facilitating everyday business activities. “Today, our Association counts over 50 companies, which recognized us as a reliable and significant organization for the further development of sustainable economic ties between Switzerland and Serbia. Therefore, building long-term relations with our members, as well as mutual trust and confidence, will always be one of our main goals in the future”, said Ms. Grujovic. She also emphasized that SSCC achieved these remarquable results as a young, small, independent and 100% self-financed institution.
Then, Mr Ansgar Bornemann, CEO of Nestlé Adriatic, announced his departure from Serbia in June 2015, and presented Mr. Marinko Ukropina, Managing director of SGS for Adriatic region, as SSCC’s newly elected President, and Mr. Claudiu Soare, CEO of Holcim, as SSCC new Vice-President. Mr. Bornemann also introduced to the guests Mrs. Yana Mikhailova, his successor in Belgrade.
As a new President of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ukropina stated the following: “First of all, I’d like to thank you for the trust you have given me, for which I am very grateful.
Mr. Claudiu Soare, new Vice-president, Ms.Ana Grujovic, Executive director, and myself, will jointly lead, in conjunction with the board, sustainable development and implementation of the previously defined SSCC policy and strategy.
Our task will also be to ensure that SSCC has appropriate work systems and methods in place, and to enable the lawful and ethical conduct of our activities.
If all of us, members of SSCC, are in strict compliance with the basic principles and values that make Swiss business society stand out from the others, we could do a lot for the local community. Our personal example will show and prove that it is possible to be ethically driven by integrity, laws and regulations and at the same time, to be successful.
Then, as a meaningful business factor and power on the Serbian market, we can rightly insist that other stakeholders respect the same values and in this way, we can together create a healthy competitive environment that will certainly boost Serbian economy”.
Finally, the guests were greeted by Mr. Jean-Luc Oesch, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Switzerland, who congratulated the 1st Anniversary of work of the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and expressed his satisfaction with results that SSCC’s achieved over the past year. Also, Mr. Oesch announced the upcoming “Business Forum in Zurich”, which will be held on June 16, 2015 with a view of further strengthening economic relations between Switzerland and Serbia. In addition, Mr. Oesch announced his departure from Serbia in June 2015 and introduced Mrs. Paulina Menthonnex, his successor.
The event was sponsored by SSCC’s Founding Members.
Many thanks once again to all of our dear guests for joining us in the celebration of our 1st Anniversary!
