The third investment conference Invest Srpska, organized by the Investment Development Bank of the Republic of Srpska with the support of President Milorad Dodik, started in Banja Vrućica. The conference brings together the most important decision-makers, representatives of local self-government units, business and financial communities of the RS and the region. The Prime Minister Radovan Višković and Minister Zlatan Klokić attended the opening of the conference.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, opened the investment conference Invest Srpska, and said that Srpska was a good place to invest and that foreign investors’ capital was safe there. In his address, Višković noted that he preferred investors who would provide solid incomes and retain domestic workers. ‘The solution is in a partnership’, said Višković and noted that the Government was a service to everyone wishing Srpska well. He indicated the good geographical position of the Republic of Srpska, its tax policies, the wealth of energy sources and quality workforce, all of which are more favourable than in the Balkan area and the vicinity. Commenting on the fact that diaspora remittances exceed foreign investments, Srpska’s Prime Minister said that migrations had been high for decades, and that people hailing from these areas and living abroad were always ready to invest in their homeland and help their relatives.

In his address at the first panel within the Invest Srpska conference dealing with investments and how to reach new investors, Minister Mitrović noted the efforts of EU countries to bring their production process closer to the borders, and that foreign investors certainly wanted to invest their capital, to know how long it took to start a business, what kind of workforce was available in an environment. According to him, all institutes, institutions and organizations must be in a partnership relationship in order to ensure such a business environment in the Republic of Srpska. Mitrović stated that Srpska had four types of incentives depending on the size of foreign investors and planned investments, and that relevant measures were raising the competitiveness of the domestic economy by digitizing the production process, strengthening the transport infrastructure, and innovation. The following panels dealt with challenges and needs of export financing to review the experiences of the financial and domestic banking sectors, with local communities – the right place for investment, which is important because investments are implemented in municipalities and cities, and with comparative advantages of domestic exports.

Dražen Vrhovac, Acting Director of the RS IDB, said that they had presented the benefits available to the RS IDB to all participants. ‘We established numerous contacts and provided many opportunities for the RS to promote and attract investments’, added Vrhovac. IDB director, Dražen Vrhovac, announced that this investment forum’s conclusions would be aimed at solving the problems identified with domestic export-oriented companies and also with local communities in order to strengthen the business environment in the Republic of Srpska.

Source: Government of the Republic of Srpska – RTRS – Nezavisne novine – eKapija

Photo: RTRS