Investment Forum: Serbia as a Destination for Swedish Capital

The Investment Forum provides a dedicated platform to examine legal & investment framework in Serbia, looking at opportunities and protection for foreign investors in Serbia including the conditions, safeguards, and prospects that define the Serbian investment landscape for capital originating from Sweden. 

The program is structured around two thematic panels: the first addresses the regulatory and legal architecture governing foreign investment in Serbia, including treaty-based protections, dispute resolution mechanisms, and compliance considerations, while the second turns to the practical dimension of market entry, sector-specific opportunities, and the incentive frameworks available to incoming investors. 

The Investment Forum brings together senior representatives of businesses, investors, and international financial institutions with leading Serbian and Swedish legal practitioners, institutional stakeholders, and development authorities. 

Programme

9:30 – 10:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee 

9:45 – 10:00 Press Statements  

10:00 – 10:10  Opening Remarks 

• Jovan Nikčević, Partner, Nikčević & Kapor Law
• Iva Petrović, Executive Director, Nordic Business Alliance
• Charlotte Sammelin, Ambassador of Sweden 

10:10 – 10:30 Plenary Presentation I 

Dr. Hannes Lenk, Legal Advisor, Kommerskollegium (National Board of Trade Sweden)   

10:30 – 11:45 Panel I – Regulatory Framework & Investment Protection  

Navigating the Legal Landscape: Regulatory Framework and Protection of Investments in Serbia 

This panel provides investors with an overview of the legal and regulatory environment governing foreign direct investment in Serbia. Speakers will examine Serbia’s investment legislation and bilateral investment treaty between Serbia and Sweden, with a focus on the substantive protections afforded to investors. The panel will further address practical aspects of regulatory compliance, corporate establishment, and licensing requirements across key sectors, as well as available mechanisms for the resolution of investment disputes, both domestically and through international arbitration. Panelists will draw on transactional and advisory experience to offer actionable guidance on structuring investments for maximum legal certainty. 

Panel Participants:   

• Magnus Hartog-Holm, Ambassador for Bilateral Investment Treaties (Sweden)  

• Jake Lowther, SCC Arbitration Institute (Sweden)  

• David Sandberg, Partner, Mannheimer Swartling (Sweden) 

• Miloš Živković (University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law) 

• Additional speakers to be confirmed  

Moderated by Tanja Šumar, Counsel, Nikčević / Kapor Law (Serbia) 

11:45 – 12:00   Coffee Break     

12:00 – 12:20 Plenary Presentation II  

Mrs. Asees Ahuja – Director EU Policy, Svenskt Näringsliv (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise)  

12:20 – 13:30  Panel II – Business Environment and Investment Outlook  

Unlocking the potential: How Serbia can attract more Swedish Capital – opportunities, enablers and key success factors for the next investment cycle   

This panel is meant to ground the discussion in commercial reality.  The aim is to get first-hand account of Swedish companies already operating in Serbia, as well as perspectives from Swedish businesses (850 companies) included in the 2025 survey conducted by Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Naringsliv), looking at EU candidate countries including Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.  The panel will cover the strategic angle of where Serbia should look for sustainable economic growth drivers going forward, what are the key enablers for this growth, as well as more practical instruments that can support this next investment phase and the role/support state institutions offer throughout the investment lifecycle.  Speakers will present the case-studies, survey results, incentives and financing structures available to qualifying investors under Serbia’s investment promotion framework, as well as the practical support offered. The panel will also highlight public-private partnership opportunities, free economic zones, and will address Serbia’s strategic positioning as a candidate country on the EU accession path.  

Panel Participants:   

• Mrs. Asees Ahuja – Director EU Policy, Svenskt Näringsliv  

• Mr. Damien Sorrell, Head for Western Balkans, EIB    

• Mihailo Vesović, Deputy President, Serbian Chamber of Commerce 

• Additional speakers to be confirmed

Moderated by Iva Petrovic, Executive Director, Nordic Business Alliance  

13:30 – 13:35  Closing Remarks  

• Charlotte Sammelin, Ambassador of Sweden 

13:35 – 14:30  Lunch  

Date: 2 June 2026
Time: 10.00–14.00
Location: Metropol Hotel, Belgrade, Serbia