The head of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Milos Bugarin, said on Friday that Serbian companies would have certainly been present in Croatia in large numbers had the political climate in the last decade been different.
Guesting in a B92 television programme, Bugarin was comparing the large number of Croatian companies operating in Serbia to the small number of Serbian firms present in Croatia.
Bugarin said that a business forum that was held in Zagreb on Thursday was full of positive energy as a result of the messages sent out by the Presidents of Croatia and Serbia, Ivo Josipovic and Boris Tadic.
"The message from Ivo Josipovic was very clear and unequivocal. He said that investments by Serbian companies in Croatia were welcome and that there would be no more obstruction, if there had been any. This is very good, because it is a completely different political attitude and political impulse that is especially important for the economy," Bugarin said.
Bugarin said the economic climate in the last ten years had been very good for Croatian investments in Serbia, with over 200 Croatian companies operating there. He added that, on the other hand, some Serbian companies had failed to acquire companies in Croatia and that, apart from a dozen offices, Serbian companies did not have any serious operations in Croatia.
