TRH Prince Alexander and Princess Dr Vesna supported and participated in the “Best of Serbia” Business Forum held in Valencia, Spain on 27 June 2026 as part of the “Vidovdan Days”, with the aim of connecting and exchanging ideas between successful Serbian and Spanish entrepreneurs, strengthening the connection of the economies of the two countries, but also promoting our country, culture, economy, and history in the Kingdom of Spain.
Prince Alexander addressed the audience at the opening ceremony, expressing his pleasure that the event was strengthening ties between Serbia and the Kingdom of Spain, especially given the close relationship between the House of Karadjordjevic and the Spanish Royal Family. “The connections between the Royal Houses of Serbia and Spain are another bond that brings the people and cultures of our two countries even closer together. This further supports the main purpose of this business forum.”
His Royal Highness also reminded of the fact that this year we are marking the 110th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between Serbia and Spain and that the hand of friendship was extended in one of the most difficult periods in Serbian history. “This business forum is in the spirit of these good and friendly relations; it improves our connections but also contributes to the well-being of our people.
It is a well-known fact that for each country in the world, its existence, future, and progress are conditioned by its economy. No country in the world can have a strong economy on its own. We are all focused on each other, on mutual cooperation, exchange of ideas, knowledge, goods, and technologies, in order for our national economies to be stronger and more efficient.
That is why we wholeheartedly supported this gathering, which is also one of the traditions of our family – to contribute to our country and people in any way we can, but also to all our foreign friends. To build bridges of friendship and cooperation”, concluded Prince Alexander, inviting the participants from Spain to visit Serbia and firsthand see how beautiful our country is and how much potential it has.
HRH Princess Dr Vesna spoke in the “Female Entrepreneurship” panel, sharing her personal experiences of starting and opening and growing her own professional practices, which was very interesting for the participants. Her Royal Highness also made a historical remark, reminding that HM Queen Maria, the great-grandmother of her husband, was a great example of a woman ahead of her time, who supported female education and the empowerment of women.
Together with the Prince, the speakers at the opening ceremony were also HE Irena Sarac, the Ambassador of Serbia to the Kingdom of Spain, Mr. Miljan Randjelovic, Assistant for Economic Diplomacy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Mr Vladimir Kokanovic, Director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, Ms Branislava Simanic, Director of the Entrepreneurship Sector of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, and Ms Milena Lazic Tejeda, on behalf of the Organising Committee of the Business Forum.
Prince Alexander on this occasion also presented the Royal Compound in Belgrade as a beautiful tourist site which attracts with its contents both domestic and foreign visitors. He also spoke about the work of Crown Prince Alexander’s Foundation for Education and Culture, and his vision that the Royal Complex should become a gathering and educational point for young people, where they will share ideas and gain new knowledge, which would be important for their further development and careers.
Ms Lazic Tajeda on this occasion said: “We achieved concrete results, established valuable connections, and created new opportunities for cooperation between Serbian and Spanish businesses. The forum provided an excellent platform to showcase the talent, expertise, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit that Serbian companies bring to the international market. Just two days later, we continued this momentum with an important meeting at one of the leading construction companies in Spain.
We are especially honoured that our initiative was recognised and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević, whose presence added great significance and prestige to this important gathering. Following the announcement of his participation, Spanish institutions, media representatives, and companies expressed significant interest in the event. We sincerely thank Their Royal Highnesses Prince Aleksandar and Princess Vesna for their support and for contributing to the success of this initiative.
It is important to emphasise that we are extremely proud to have such highly educated, both traditional and open-minded members of the Royal Family, who represent Serbia among international circles with dignity, professionalism, and a positive vision. We believe this is only the beginning of promoting Serbian knowledge, expertise, and entrepreneurial spirit in Spain. We remain committed to supporting this mission and warmly welcome future opportunities for cooperation and joint projects. We are proud that this first business forum brought together people, ideas, and businesses, creating a strong foundation for future partnerships and successful projects between Serbia and Spain.”
On 28 June, Vidovdan, Their Royal Highnesses participated in the celebration of this Holiday, attended the Holy Liturgy, and the solemn celebration of the Serbian religious and national holiday, using this opportunity as well to connect with our diaspora.
The “Best of Serbia” Business Forum was held as part of the “Vidovdan Days” (Vidovdan is a great and important Serbian national and religious holiday), on which Serbian economy, tradition and culture were presented in the Kingdom of Spain, in order to better and more closely connect business people from the two countries. One of the main topics was: “Why invest in Serbia?”, also covering EXPO promotion, considering that Spain is one of the 12 major exhibitors at the upcoming Specialised Exhibition in Belgrade, but also discussing key sectors for cooperation between Serbia and Spain, from energy, IT, digitalisation, infrastructure, tourism, food production, etc.
The business forum in Valencia was organised with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Madrid, the Directorate for Diaspora and Cooperation with Serbs in the region of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.
