Commercial diplomacy as an instrument for enhancing economic recovery: the case of Serbia

Abstract

The article focuses on the role commercial diplomacy (CD) has on enhancing economic recovery of Serbia. Serbia is chosen as a case due to being a small country (in transition), facing many economic problems, largely emanating from its economic structure, with its economy being highly oriented towards the markets of the European Union upon which it is thus strongly dependent. In the time of the current economic crisis, excessive concentration on a limited number of markets in terms of promoting export and attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) proved to be a weakness. Having grasped these realities, Serbia started to reorient its economic activity from the EU (markets), being severely affected by the crisis, to the new, emerging economies/markets, among which four especially stand out as important for the economy of Serbia: the Russian Federation – a traditional ally of Serbia, Turkey and China – Serbia’s partner countries yet from the times of the former Yugoslavia, and the United Arab Emirates, which due to its economic performance, investment opportunities in particular, became attractive for Serbia business-wise, especially in recent years. The findings of this study go in favour of Serbia’s decision to foster its CD towards the emerging markets.