On April 26, 2025, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Belgrade. This is his second visit to Serbia in the last six months and part of a broader trip to Eastern Europe, which also includes Hungary and Romania.
Program of the visit to Belgrade
During his visit, Trump Jr. met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. According to Vučić, they discussed bilateral relations, strategic cooperation, and joint projects for the coming years. The president emphasized the importance of strengthening political and economic ties between Serbia and the US.
In the afternoon, Trump Jr. spoke at a business forum organized by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Entrepreneurs Club. The event was attended by representatives of construction companies, the banking sector, and other industries. The prospects for investment and the development of business ties between the US and Serbia were discussed.
The Trump family’s investment interests in Belgrade
The Trump family’s increased interest in Belgrade is linked to plans to rebuild the headquarters of the Yugoslav People’s Army, which was destroyed during the NATO bombing in 1999. In 2024, Affinity Global Development, owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, signed an agreement with the Serbian government to build a hotel complex on the site.
The project is expected to include a Trump-branded hotel, commercial space, and more than 1,500 residential apartments. This project is seen as part of a broader strategy to attract US investment to the Western Balkans.
Previous visits by Donald Trump Jr. to Belgrade
Trump Jr.’s first visit to Belgrade took place in September 2024, during his father’s election campaign. At that time, he held a closed-door dinner with a group of Serbian businessmen, including owners of construction companies and banks. The meeting was held without the participation of Serbian government officials and was aimed at discussing potential investment projects.
Significance of the visit for the region
Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to Belgrade demonstrates the growing interest of the US in investing in Serbia and the Western Balkans region. Discussions on joint projects and the strengthening of bilateral ties could contribute to the development of economic cooperation and attract new investment to the country.
In addition, the visit underscores Serbia’s desire to strengthen relations with the US, which is particularly important in the context of its aspirations for integration into the European Union and balancing between traditional allies and new partners.
Overall, Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to Belgrade can be seen as a step toward strengthening economic and political ties between Serbia and the US, as well as a signal of both sides’ readiness to implement joint projects in the future.
Indian military officials said Pakistani troops fired on Indian posts along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir for the second time in a night, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
According to a statement from the Indian Army, soldiers from several Pakistani army posts opened fire on Indian positions “across the Line of Control.”
Indian troops responded with small arms fire. The statement said the firing was ‘unprovoked,’ but no information on casualties was provided.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after a deadly attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir on Tuesday, when a terrorist attack killed about 30 people, most of whom were Indian citizens.
India called the attack a “terrorist attack” and accused Pakistan of supporting the attackers. The Indian Express, citing sources, reported that seven attackers were behind the attack, at least four of whom were from Pakistan.
Pakistan, in turn, denied any involvement, and an unknown militant group called the “Kashmir Resistance” claimed responsibility for the attack.
In response to the escalation of the conflict, India suspended an important agreement on the joint use of water resources and closed the only functioning land border crossing point.
Pakistan, in turn, canceled visas for Indian citizens and closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has improved its forecast for the electricity deficit in Ukraine this year from 4% to 3% and next year from 2% to 1% thanks to rapid repairs and the development of distributed generation.
“Quick repairs to maneuverable generation and energy infrastructure, the development of distributed electricity generation and renewable energy capacity, against the backdrop of sustained electricity imports, allow us to improve the estimate of the electricity deficit over the forecast horizon,” the NBU stated in its Inflation Report for April 2025, comparing it with the January report.
According to Nabank, the deficit will almost disappear in 2027 (1%).
Thus, the report states that the impact of energy supply constraints on real GDP growth will decrease, and annual electricity imports in 2025-2027 will amount to about $0.5 billion.
As reported, at the end of 2024, the Ministry of Energy reported that the total capacity of distributed gas generation facilities connected in Ukraine last year amounted to 967 MW, of which 835 MW were commissioned in 2024.
The Belaya Tserkov Industrial Park (IP) , a project of the holding company UFuture owned by entrepreneur Vasily Khmelnitsky, does not plan to revise its strategic development plan, which envisages attracting 30 resident companies and $250 million in investments by 2030, as well as creating up to 4,000 jobs, according to IP Belaya Tserkov CEO Andrey Ropitsky.
“If there are no ‘black swans’, then, in principle, everything is going according to plan, and we do not plan to revise our strategy,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of ‘Industrial Evolution: Manufacturing Drives the Economy’ at IP ‘Bila Tserkva’ on Thursday.
According to him, in addition to the Finnish Peikko plant, the commissioning of an industrial building for a future plant for the production of concrete joints and composite structures was announced on Thursday, and a plant of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of everyday goods, Unilever, is also under construction.
“Three more companies have purchased land from us this year and are already requesting the construction of networks. We are talking to them about commercial terms and conditions and support the construction of their plants. Therefore, Unilever is currently under construction, and the second phase of the Virastar plant (a manufacturer of high-altitude equipment for construction work – IF-U) is also under construction. So two are under construction, two have been commissioned, and three more are on the way,” he said.
Ropitsky did not specify which investors would be attracted to the park, citing commercial secrecy, but added that it is now easier to attract investors because the park already has ”something to show them.”
“At first it’s difficult because there’s nothing to show and no one trusts you. But when someone has considered the possibility and then I tell them that the plot or building is no longer available, they are ready to buy in the second phase. So it’s much easier to sell now,” Ropitsky said.
During the forum, he clarified that of the two parks (Bila Tserkva and Bila Tserkva 2), the first is already almost full (36 hectares) — all plots have been sold, and the buildings have been constructed, sold, or leased.
“This means that we only have 12 hectares left to develop, which are either already under construction, have been postponed by clients, or will be built by us or our clients. In principle, we will do this within the next two to three years. We have already started organizing the second park,” said the CEO of IP ”Bila Tserkva.”
According to him, IP “Bila Tserkva 2,” with an area of 34.7 hectares, has already received state co-financing for external networks and signed contracts with contractors.
“We are supplying 15 MW of electricity, water, and sewage to the site, and gas is right there across the road. Therefore, in a year, all networks will be in place, just like in the first park,” Ropitsky noted.
He emphasized that in order to attract small and medium-sized businesses to the park, small buildings of up to 2-3 thousand square meters are being built, ”which can be divided into lots and rented out to customers by the thousand square meters.”
Among the problems for the development of industrial parks, he mentioned, in particular, the lack of labor, the absence of materials necessary for construction on the local market, as well as high interest rates on loans.
“We have now launched a vocational training project, a center that will quickly train people who are needed by our clients. And we have already started designing such a building on a neighboring site,” he said.
IP ‘Bila Tserkva’ and ‘Bila Tserkva 2’ were included in the Register of Industrial Parks in 2018.
The developed territory of IP “Bila Tserkva” has attracted 15 residents, including Unilever, InTiCa Systems, Peikko, and Pripravka, which relocated from Kharkiv in 2022, as well as the logistics depot “Nova Poshta,” the grain storage complex “Volytsia-Agro,” the Plank Electrotechnic electrical fittings factory, and Virastar, a manufacturer of high-altitude equipment for construction work.
The OKKO Group plans to fully launch a EUR110 million bioethanol plant in the third quarter of 2026, according to the group’s CEO Vasily Danilyak.
“This year, we plan to complete the elevator and warehouse complex, which will enable us to receive corn from our cluster. We plan to fully launch the plant in the third quarter of 2026,” Danilyak said during the We Build Ukraine conference on Thursday, which was broadcast online.
He noted that total investment in the plant during 2024-2026 will amount to EUR 110 million, of which EUR 35 million will be the group’s own contribution and EUR 75 million will be debt financing. Of this, EUR 60 million was provided by the EBRD for a term of nine years, and another EUR 15 million by Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine for a term of seven years.
According to Danilyak, the plant’s annual capacity for bioethanol, demand for which is growing with the mandatory addition of 5% of this alcohol to motor gasoline from May 1, 2025, is 83,000 tons, and for animal feed – 70,000 tons. The plant’s annual capacity for corn processing is 270,000 tons.
As reported, in June 2024, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and OKKO signed a EUR60 million loan agreement at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin for the construction of a new bioethanol plant in Ukraine.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other services. The group’s flagship company is Galnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest petrol station chains in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with around 400 petrol stations. The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
