State Secretary of Economy and Regional Development Dragijana Radonjic-Petrovic said  that the Serbian Exporters Association as an independent institution to be an important partner to the relevant Ministry and the Serbian government, which is an increase of exports to foreign markets as a priority.

Radonjic-Petrovic told a press conference held on the occasion of the founding assembly of this association that export growth is encouraging.

Export structure, i.e. 70% of export, is dominated by raw materials and semi-finished products, she said, adding that the geographical structure of exports is not satisfactory, considering that more than 80% of exports go to EU countries and CEFTA.

Representative of the Initiative Committee of the Association Svetozar Mrksic said that the association wants to participate actively in the creation of trade, fiscal and other economic policies of our country.

Mrksic said that representatives of the Initiative Committee and the Project of the European Union's Competitiveness and Export Promotion Agency (SECEP) argue that Serbia must establish an association that will put under the same roof primarily small and medium-sized, export-oriented enterprises.

He said that among the main goals of this association include exchange of experiences of exporters, creating a business environment that provides cost-effective export, increasing the value and geographic coverage of export markets, and strengthening financial and technical capacity.

Representative of the EU Delegation to Serbia Jose Antonio Gomez Gomez recalled that the EU launched SECEP project in 2009 with the aim to support the competitiveness of the export capacity of small and medium enterprises in Serbia.

He pointed out that 3.5 million was allocatef for the establishment of a professional association of exporters.

Since 2001, the EU has supported a large number of projects related to the development of small and medium enterprises with approximately €67 million, he said.

SIEPA Director Bozidar Laganin said that the agency will provide support to this association.

The establishment of the association was financed by the EU with €3.5 million within the Support to Enterprise Competitiveness and Export Promotion (SECEP) project.

Besides the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development and SIEPA, SECEP project was also supported by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the National Agency for Regional Development.