Agriculture and the food, confectionery, pharmaceutical and IT industries, as well as tourism and sharing of knowledge and technology regarding organic cultivation, hold the greatest potential for cooperation between Serbia and West African countries, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) representative Mihailo Vesovic and Sao Tome and Principe PM Jorge Bom Jesus said at a meeting on Friday.

Bom Jesus said his country was open to cooperation and free trade within the African Union.

“We are not a major exporter, but we are working on advancing the processing industry by using a whole range of raw materials, most notably, cocoa, coffee and coconut,” Bom Jesus said.

Serbia has competitive food products that are very interesting to the African market, a statement from the PKS quoted Bom Jesus as saying.

Due to its small surface of quality land and limited workforce, Sao Tome and Principe is in need of cooperation when it comes to advancing production technologies, digitalisation and implementing modern innovative solutions to boost productivity, he said.

The parties also noted that active efforts were underway to develop plans for utilising the great potential for cooperation between Serbia and African states in tourism with a view to creating a joint tourism supply, the PKS said.