On the occasion of the closure of the office on December 31, he said that very important results had been achieved since its opening in 2002 but that as a result of the economic crisis, the number of Croatian companies operating in Serbia had declined from 225 to 195.
Masnec said the decline in purchasing power "will be a very big problem for the placement of Croatian products in Serbia."
He said that over the past decade Croatia had, given its economic potential, become one of the biggest investors in Serbia. He said Croatian investors had always fulfilled their obligations towards employees, local government, relevant agencies and the state, and that no investment contract had been cancelled.
Masnec went on to say that "in the best times, Croatian-Serbian trade was about a billion euros" and that "an increase depends both on purchasing power and on the state of our economies."
He said both sides could achieve much more in the metalworking industry, energy, mechanical engineering and agriculture.
He regretted that when Belgrade was buying trams, a consortium of Croatia's Koncar and Serbian companies was not formed to mutual benefit. He said "politics should extend certain support" to such projects.
Masnec said it was difficult to be competitive in capital projects in Serbia because they were agreed without international tenders and between states. He said Serbia had contracted several such deals with China and Russia, complaining that Croatian companies often could not pass at public tenders in Serbia.
He said the HGK's Serbian office would be closed on December 31 as a result of cost-cutting. He recalled that offices in Mostar, Sarajevo, Pristina and Kotor would also be closed on that day, while those in Moscow and Brussels would stay open.
He said the Croatian Business Club would remain active in Serbia.