Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš led a high-level business delegation to Serbia on July 23, seeking to deepen trade and investment ties as Czech companies pursue opportunities in infrastructure, defence, transport, healthcare and advanced technologies, Serbian news agency Tanjug reported.

During talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and a Serbia-Czech Republic business forum in Belgrade, Babiš said Czech companies were ready to increase investments in Serbia, describing the Balkan country as an increasingly important economic partner.

"Over the past decade, mutual trade between the Czech Republic and Serbia has more than tripled and reached €2.3bn," Babiš said, according to Tanjug, adding that Prague wanted Czech firms to secure a larger role in Serbian infrastructure projects through intergovernmental agreements.

The two leaders attended a business roundtable bringing together around 50 companies from sectors including defence, aviation, energy, transport, construction, information technology and banking.

Vučić said around 245 companies with majority Czech ownership operate in Serbia and that Czech investments have exceeded €640mn since 2010, with the largest inflows recorded over the past two years.

He said Serbia wanted to elevate the two countries' Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation to ministerial level and proposed holding its next meeting in Belgrade ahead of Expo 2027.

The Czech delegation later visited the Expo 2027 construction site in Surčin, where Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali presented the project as a catalyst for investment and economic growth beyond the international exhibition.

Among the companies represented in the Czech delegation were investment group PPF, transport manufacturer Škoda Transportation, beverage producer Mattoni 1873, defence group Omnipol, aircraft maker Aero Vodochody and medical equipment producer Linet.

Babiš said Linet had decided to establish its regional hub in Serbia rather than Greece, while expressing confidence that Czech manufacturers could also supply trams, railway equipment and military trainer aircraft to the country, Tanjug reported.

According to Serbia's statistical office, bilateral goods trade reached about €2.4bn in 2025, making the Czech Republic one of Serbia's largest trading partners within the European Union.