Knowledge of French language and culture: A precondition for improving economic relations between Serbia and France

France is one of the largest economies of the world and one of the most influential countries of the EU, and its centuries-old friendship with Serbia and a strategic position in the Western Balkans and the complementarity of economies represent a good basis for the development of bilateral economic relations. However, despite the great potential for cooperation, mutual cooperation results to date are not at a high level. One of the reasons may well be just the language barrier and the lack of knowledge of French market culture. The aim of this paper is to present forms of economic cooperation between Serbia and France, to emphasize the importance of the knowledge of French language and intercultural competence as a prerequisite for cooperation, at least in the initial marketing terms. In this paper, we will give a brief historical overview of the French economic relations, and by employing a complementary analysis we will present the mutual trade between the two countries, and we will as well point out the importance of knowing the French language and French culture to the employees who have plans for successful cooperation with French partners.