The Balkan Textile trade fair, the third international fair dedicated to raw materials used in the textile and furniture industry, the exhibitors include local companies and 30 manufacturers based in Turkey was opened on Thursday in Novi Pazar by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic.

This event opens new prospects not only for the textile industry, but also for the economic relations between the two countries.

The textile fair is not only a good chance for Turkish textile companies to present themselves, but also provides an opportunity to draw potential investors. Also Serbian manufacturers get to cooperate with Turkish enterprises and help create new jobs in Serbia.

Addressing the participants at the fair, Rasim Ljajic said that Serbia must increase its trade with Turkey to EUR 1 billion, and that is a realistic goal considering that Serbia and Turkey have not yet activated all their potentials to improve their cooperation.

Also Novi Pazar (central Serbia) should reemerge as the center of textile industry in the country due to its top quality and highly skilled workforce and over twenty years of tradition in the sector.

The focus of the fair is not just wanting Turkish companies to participate in this fair to sell their products in Serbia, but also to set up their production facilities here, for which the state would provide incentives, said Ljajic.

Also there is a need to invest in new technologies, and prevent illegal trade, as Serbia intends to have a legal textile market.

At the fair, visitors have the opportunity to discover the Serbian market and to present their products and services to an interested audience.