Euractiv media network reported that Serbia is the Western Balkan’s only EU membership candidate that has not joined the EU's new restrictive measures against Iran.

On Wednesday, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that on June 27, the European Council adopted a decision on implementing restrictive measures against Iran, which were joined by some EU accession countries. However, Serbia - also an EU accession country - refrained from joining the sanctions.

"On 11 July,  Serbian and Iranian Business People met in Belgrade at a business forum held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce," mentioned Euractiv.

In a release, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce considered that "the economies of Serbia and Iran can cooperate successfully and raise their economic relations to a much higher level in nearly all areas, from the food industry through energy, tourism, and healthcare to telecommunications and state-of-the-art technologies."

According to Euractiv, "the forum gathered more than 80 Serbian and Iranian businesspeople and representatives of business associations and governments of the two states."

The media network said that a recent announcement confirmed that Serbia is set to appoint a co-chairperson of the Mixed Committee on Economic Cooperation Between Serbia and Iran, once the new Serbian government is formed.

It is noteworthy that Serbia's trade with Iran "amounted to $50.8 million in 2021, up 115.2% compared to 2020," Euractiv pointed out.