I

ndonesia expects to make Serbia, located at the Central and Southeastern crossroads of Europe, a hub for exports to the region due to its strategic position, a trade official says.

Apart from its geographic position, Serbia was also important as it had already sealed several free trade agreements (FTAs) with trade partners, both bilaterally and regionally, including the Central European Trade Agreement, The Trade Ministry director-general of foreign trade, Deddy Saleh, said on Thursday.

“Indonesia can take the benefit of Serbia’s FTAs to expand export of a variety of commodities. Both countries will need to take concrete measures to realize it,” Deddy, who led a recent visit to Serbia, said in a statement.

Bilateral trade increased by 63.8 percent in 2011 to US$56.2 million from 2007. During the first half of this year, total trade reached $22.7 million, with Indonesia exporting $18.8 million and importing $3.8 million.