Connecting businessmen in the diaspora and the motherland – opportunities and challenges is the business forum held in Banja Luka last weekend.

The organizer is the Association of the Motherland, Diaspora and Serbs in the Region Koreni (Roots) of Banja Luka, in cooperation with the Srpska Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Serbian Businessmen of Switzerland.

The forum said that businessmen from the diaspora and their investments were of great importance for the Republic of Srpska, and adopted 14 conclusions as follows:

1. Participants of the business forum, numerous discussants and representatives of competent institutions expressed an unequivocal need and desire to further develop and encourage cooperation, believing that this cooperation would contribute to deepening mutual ties of economic entities of the motherland, diaspora and the entire region,

2. Agreement was reached on the need for continuous exchange of information on current trends in economic indicators, as well as the needs for joint project implementation in order to improve the economic and all other forms of cooperation,

3. Necessity to coordinate business and other activities was indicated for the purpose of joint presentation and involvement in local, regional and international projects and entering open markets,

4. Affirm and encourage foreign investments, especially investment activities of the Serb diaspora, focusing on the need for further and more intensive legal regulations in order to facilitate this vibrant process,

5. In cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Srpska, take active part in establishing the project of the Register of Serb Diaspora in order to strengthen its connections,

6. Obtain the necessary insight and contacts with the institutions of the European Union in terms of applying for funds and grants of European institutions and implementing them in the region,

7. Achieve continuous information exchange in order to respond in a timely manner and take crisis measures to reduce the losses and damages caused by disturbances in the capital and investment market in the motherland, diaspora and region,

8. Affirm professional and scientific research, projects and research activities that address the needs of the Serb diaspora, motherland and region,

9. Improve activities in forming own network of electronic media in order to timely inform and exchange crucial information to speed up the flow of joint program projects,

10. Improve cooperation with the government institutions of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia in order to affirm national cultural and historical values, script, language and other national symbols,

11. Establishment of contact persons at local level, but also at the level of the Republic of Srpska, in order to cooperate with businessmen from the diaspora,

12. Introduction of new, additional weekend flights between Banja Luka and cities abroad populated by a large number of our compatriots,

13. The Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Banja Luka region will collect investment projects of businessmen and local communities and submit them through the Koreni association to our business people in the diaspora and

14. The Government of the Republic of Srpska will submit all information on investment projects, and Invest Srpska portal already offers details on the conditions for investing.

Source: MONDO

Photo: Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation