Bilateral relations are close. German policy towards Serbia focuses on providing support for political and economic reform in the country. The aims are to further the process of democratic change, to promote the rule of law in Serbia and to achieve progress in the country’s EU accession process.

Serbia and Germany have different positions on Kosovo’s independence, which is recognised by Germany.

Germany is a key partner of Serbia in the EU. In addition, there are close ties between Germany and Serbia on account of the large number of Serbs and people of Serbian origin residing permanently in Germany. Different estimates put the total number of people of Serbian descent currently living in Germany at between 400,000 and 800,000.

Germany is Serbia’s main economic partner. In 2023, the bilateral volume of trade was more than nine billion euro, and over 900 companies with German capital have invested approx. 4.7 billion euro in Serbia since the year 2000, creating around 80,000 jobs. The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbien) has more than 440 member companies and is by far the largest bilateral chamber of commerce.

The overarching goal of development cooperation with Serbia is to provide support with reforms for EU accession. The focus lies on implementing the green agenda, specifically on expanding renewable energies and improving energy efficiency, as well as on a socially just and economically viable economic transformation. To this end, Germany has agreed a climate partnership with the Western Balkans. Other issues include vocational education, support for the private sector in Serbia and good governance. Since 2000, the German Government has provided approximately 2.3 billion euro for all these issues, making Germany the largest bilateral donor.

Cultural life in Serbia is rich and wide-ranging, and cultural cooperation with Germany is close. The Goethe-Institut Belgrade offers an extensive and highly attractive programme: its events, such as exhibitions, lectures, concerts and plays, are well-attended, as are its German language classes. German is firmly established as the second most popular foreign language after English and is learned by almost half of the pupils.

The small remaining German minority (known as Danube Swabians), of which there are 4064 members registered in the group’s National Council according to the 2011 census, has 14 cultural associations. With more than 750 members, St. Gerhard in Sombor is the most active of these.