To intensify the presence of businessmen from Srpska in Austria, the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in that country organizes trainings and consultations with businessmen and representatives of local communities in the Republic of Srpska, as a form of support to domestic export-oriented companies, said Mladen Filipović.

Filipović said that during the previous two weeks, he had held meetings and presentations for representatives of the municipalities of Srbac and Milići, and that local businessmen had expressed interest in cooperation in various sectors. - The main goal is to intensify presence on the Austrian market by the end of the year, and discussions covered the possibilities for expanding the cooperation with the existing partners and establishing new cooperation in Austria - said Filipović.

According to him, the businessmen were presented the three phases of project support to companies, which include registration of business entities in the Business Register. - That is followed by an outreach program, which implies direct communication with the Austrian business community and companies - stated Filipović. He said that in the third phase, the companies had the opportunity to present their products or services directly in Austria in the showroom in Linz, opened in May 2019 with the support of the Government of the Republic of Srpska.

- The support of the Representative Office includes providing information about the situation at the market, establishing contacts in various sectors, and creating a database of Republic of Srpska companies, which enables acting towards the Austrian market in an organized manner - said Filipović.

Filipović invited company representatives to register in the Business Register, which is available on the website of the Representative Office as a database for communicating and connecting with key sectors in Austria. - The Business Register offers the possibility for all companies to register in a single database available in German, where Austrian companies can find all the information about our companies directly at the Republic of Srpska Representation, without the need for independent market research - Filipović clarified.

He pointed out that the outreach program offered the possibility of sending information on domestic companies directly to Austrian companies. - Depending on the needs of our businessmen, we target Austrian companies, contact their management and connect them with our companies - said Filipović.

Filipović reminded that the Representation had recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society, and Banja Luka Innovation Center, to serve as basis for creating a virtual platform to improve communication and cooperation between Serbian and Austrian business entities. - The platform will be multilingual, require minimal investments and be of great importance, considering that our databases will migrate to a virtual platform which will greatly facilitate the interaction between domestic companies and Austrian business entities interested in cooperation and investments - said Filipović.

He noted that the Representation also planned to organize trainings and meetings for domestic businessmen in Austria during autumn, when the epidemiological situation was expected to normalize. - The pandemic has also affected the dynamics of our work. Some of the projects we had planned had to be modified and adapted to the new situation. Our basic task is to promote economic potentials and encourage investments in the economy of Srpska - said Filipović.

Filipović noted that the Representation was therefore in constant communication with representatives of the economy and institutions in both Austria and the Republic of Srpska, even in the conditions of the pandemic.

- We tried to adapt like everyone else, so we held many activities and meetings via online platforms - said Filipović.

Source: SRNA

Photo: RTRS