Unaligned Legacies. Pragmatic Balkan nations look to the Gulf in a disorganised manner

In 1961, in Belgrade, Josip Broz Tito’s Yugoslavia, together with Nasser’s Egypt and Nehru’s India, launched the Non-Aligned Movement. For three decades, the Balkan federation was much more than a geographical neighbour to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): it was a diplomatic bridge, an ideological partner and an infrastructural giant whose companies built dams from the Euphrates to the Maghreb. Today, thirty-five years after the end of Yugoslavia, the countries born of its dissolution are, each in their own way, piecing together the fragments of that historical legacy. No longer united under a single ideological banner, but divided, competitive and driven by a pressing economic pragmatism, the countries of the former Yugoslavia – together with neighbouring Albania – are redrawing the boundaries of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

Whilst socialist Yugoslavia viewed the Arab world through an anti-imperialist lens, today’s Serbia views the Persian Gulf through the prism of financial realism. Belgrade is at the heart of this transformation. Capitalising on the geopolitical neutrality inherited from the last century, Serbia has forged a preferential relationship with the United Arab Emirates, culminating in the entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The impact of this agreement is felt both on the ground and in the skies. In the aviation sector, the long-standing partnership with Etihad Airways has enabled the national carrier, Air Serbia, to modernise its fleet and expand its route network, transforming Belgrade into the leading aviation hub in the Balkan region before the state regained full control of the airline. But it is in agriculture that the most strategic move is being made: the Emirati giant Al Dahra has taken over the long-established company PKB, acquiring some 17,000 hectares of agricultural land near the capital. An investment of over 400 million dollars that has redefined food security in the Gulf.

On the other hand, despite a temporary cooling of relations in 2020 following Israel’s recognition of Kosovo, the close ties between Israel and Serbia have recently been reaffirmed with the launch of a formal strategic dialogue and the start of negotiations for the signing of a free trade agreement designed to remove customs barriers, within a framework in which Israel is one of the main destinations for Serbian exports outside Europe.

Further west, Croatia is playing the European integration card. As a member of the EU and NATO, Zagreb is following in the footsteps of the Union’s strategies for the Mediterranean, but with a strong logistical focus. The route between the Croatian port of Rijeka and the Egyptian port of Alexandria has become a crucial corridor for goods travelling up from the Suez Canal towards Central Europe. At the same time, the long-standing presence of the energy company INA in Egypt ensures stability of supply, whilst the Croatian labour market is opening up to thousands of North African workers. However, Croatia’s geopolitical stance towards the MENA region is marked by internal tensions: whilst the government maintains strong cooperation with Israel on tax treaties and defence, President Zoran Milanović’s strong criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza has led to a diplomatic freeze on the new Israeli ambassador to Zagreb.