In the last ten years France has invested more than USD 780mn in Serbia, thus enabling the employment of 7,000 people, Chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Milos Bugarin said on June 16.

Bugarin said at the PKS session regarding French investments that the country directly invested approximately USD 540mn in Serbia, which, with the rest of its investments, amounted to approximately USD 780mn.

"Serbia should aim to further attract direct investments from French companies," Bugarin said, emphasizing the successful examples of the Beocin cement works factory privatization by Lafarge, with its USD 102mn investment, and USD 170mn investment made by Michelin to Tiger Tires.

French ambassador to Belgrade Francois Xavier Deniau said that French companies were interested in investing in Serbia, especially in the fields of organic and agricultural production.

"The good thing about Serbian and French relations is that the two are both agricultural countries," he said, adding that France ranks second in the world as an exporter of agricultural produce.