Representatives of the Bijeljina Regional Chamber of Commerce, local businesspeople and Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Austria met yesterday at the Bijeljina Cultural Center in order to strengthen international promotion of the Republic of Srpska’s economy, with a special focus on Semberija.

The main topic of discussion was the organization of the event Semberija Days in Austria, which should take place at the end of September in Vienna and Tulln. This event is an opportunity for Semberija businesspeople to enter foreign market and present their products, knowledge and innovations to the diaspora and potential partners.

The Head of the Bijeljina Regional Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Republic of Srpska, Zoran Maletić, said that the primary goal was to promote Semberija and create new business opportunities on the Austrian market. ‘It is planned to hold the Semberija Days in Austria from 22 to 27 September for our businesspeople to have the opportunity to present themselves and their products, and cultural and artistic societies to present this region’s tradition and culture. We want to expand the scope of cooperation, because although there is already a number of companies doing business with Austria, that number is still small compared to the potential we have,’ Maletić said.

Head of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Austria, Mladen Filipović, noted that the activities of that institution were primarily focused on supporting export by domestic companies. ‘Our goal is to introduce businesspeople to the possibilities of cooperation with Austria, but also to connect the economy, culture and diaspora through events such as Semberija Days. We have already organized similar events such as Krajina Days and Herzegovina Days, and this concept has proven to be very successful,’ said Filipović.

A special emphasis was placed on the Fit for Austria project, which has trained more than 100 companies from the Republic of Srpska for entering the Austrian market. According to Filipović, as many as 80 percent of the participants established cooperation with Austrian partners at the first meeting. The interlocutors concluded that Semberija had significant potential, particularly in the food industry, and that there was a real chance to expand exports and attract investments from Austria. The organizers expect the upcoming activities to further connect businesspersons, but also strengthen ties with the large diaspora in that country.

Source and photo: Info Bijeljina – bndan.com

Photo: InfoBijeljina