Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Aleksandar Antic. Source: sps.org.rs
Following the adoption of the Bilateral Cooperation Plan between the Chinese and Serbian governments as part of the One Belt One Road Initiative, Huawei has announced that it will open an Innovation Center for Digital Transformation in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
The bilateral agreement will be signed by the Minister for Mining and Energy, Aleksandar Antic. Mr Antic and the Serbian government has also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding allowing for the development of the Smart Cities project in the Balkan country.
The document's aim is to devise a strategy whereby Huawei is positioned as a strategic partner for municipal councils and local governments in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and other towns in the country.
A statement from the government said: “The joint effort and the mutual sharing of information will secure a platform for the development of local potential and the building of a local ecosystem in the field of digital transformation in the public, financial, education and energy sectors, as well as in the transport segment.”
The announcement from Huawei will be met with consternation in some quarters of the European Union. Officials have expressed concern over Chinese influence in the Balkan countries following large investment projects in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Greece.
There are also misgivings over cybersecurity and Huawei's links with the Chinese government, in particular in light of new laws passed in China that compel "individual and workplaces" to comply with "state intelligence agents". While the exact text of these laws is open to a certain amount of interpretation, mistrust towards the Chinese tech giant has increased, in particular in Western Europe and the US.
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