Традиционална манифестација „Дани Српске у Србији“, коју већ девет година организује Представништво Републике Српске у Србији, свечано је отворена 22. септембра 2021. у Народном позоришту у Београду.

It was preceded by a reception with the Mayor of Belgrade, Prof. Dr Zoran Radojičić, for the Republic of Srpska delegation led by the Prime Minister, Radovan Višković, and promotion of the tourist offer of the Republic of Srpska in Knez Mihailova Street, near the Cultural Center of Belgrade.

The Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, in Resavska 15, hosted yesterday a promotion of investment potentials of business and free zones of the Republic of Srpska, with a focus on the free zones in Podrinje. Showing of the film presentation Srpska – the Republic of Opportunities, was followed by addresses by Marko Čadež, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mlađen Cicović, Head of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Serbia, Pero Ćorić, President of the Republic of Srpska Chamber of Commerce, Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, and Siniša Mali, Minister of Finance, on behalf of the Government of Serbia. The film presentation Business and Free Zones of the Republic of Srpska (Prijedor, Gradiška, Trebinje, Zvornik) was followed by addresses by Vjekoslav Petričević, Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Srpska, about the benefits of investing and doing business in the Republic of Srpska, Zlatan Klokić, Minister of European Integration and Regional Cooperation, about the opportunities and manners of regional cooperation, and Srđan Rankić, Mayor of Bratunac, who presented the free zone in Bratunac.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, invited businessmen to invest in Srpska noting that the Government would support each good investment, and that the Government was determined to cooperate with everyone on a partnership basis, adding that cumulative tax rates in Srpska were the lowest in the region and that facilities for doing business included also a possibility of exemption from taxes and contributions for new employment during a period of 12 months. Радован Вишковић позвао је привреднике да инвестирају у Српску и истакао да ће Влада подржати сваку добру инвестицију, те да је Влада опредијељена да са свима сарађује на партнерској основи, те додао да су збирне пореске стопе у Српској најниже у региону и да олакшице за пословање представљају и могућност ослобађања плаћања пореза и доприноса за новозапослне у трајању од 12 мјесеци.

– On behalf of the Republic of Srpska Government and local communities, I invite you to invest in Srpska. We are open for every business initiative and investment – Višković emphasized. – Income tax at 10 percent, non-taxable dividend and favorable electricity price are among the key advantages of investing in the Republic of Srpska.

Radovan Višković noted that agreement would be signed today with a Belgrade company already making housing containers in the area of Srebrenica, and that he expected this gathering on investment potentials of Srpska to yield concrete agreements for some economic activities, especially in the border area with Serbia. Višković explained that the Belgrade company wanted to make such profiles also in the area of Bratunac, near the Bratoljub bridge, which he hoped would be operational at the beginning of October.

He stated that in addition to the signing of the agreement with one Serbian company, there were preliminary talks with six to seven companies ready to invest in Srpska.

– My expectations are high, I will talk to the representatives of NIS, Neoplanta, Delta, Zepter, etc. which are operating at regional level. I am glad that such companies are ready and want to invest in the Republic of Srpska. From this position in the Government, I will do everything with my ministers to facilitate their investments and benefits – said Višković.

Regarding economic activities in the border area, Višković explained that these were free zones that Srpska wanted to create from Bratunac to Bijeljina. He reminded that participants in this gathering included also the mayors of Gradiška, Trebinje, Zvornik, Bratunac, who had expressed interest in forming those zones, as well as businessmen from Serbia ready to build production capacities in the Republic of Srpska.

Višković reminded that at a recent meeting with the Provincial Prime Minister, Igor Mirović, it was agreed to involve the Provincial Government in this area, and the same goes for the Serbian Government for other business entities in Serbia; and all those interested in investing in Srpska will have support of its institutions as well as of those of Serbia.

Siniša Mali, the Minister of Finance in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, pointed out that one of Serbia’s priorities was investing in road and railway infrastructure in order to raise the quality of life of citizens and the level of attractiveness and competitiveness of the environment in which the economy operates. The same goes for investments in the Republic of Srpska.

– It is such projects that we have defined with the Republic of Srpska. There are projects in the field of energy, related to the hydro-potentials of the upper course of the river Drina, hydroelectric power plants Paunci, Foča, Buk Bijela; and the investments starting next year include Trebinje airport, and also investments related to the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway – Mali said.

The Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship, Vjekoslav Petričević, and the Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation, Zlatan Klokić, presented the facilities and benefits that Srpska is ready to offer to businessmen and investors.

The President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, said that the Republic of Srpska was an attractive destination for investors and six to seven companies already had concrete plans for what they wanted to produce in Srpska.

The President of the Republic of Srpska Chamber of Commerce, Pero Ćorić, said that Serbia was the largest investor in Srpska, that a much bigger step was needed, and that to implement such large projects, Srpska had to have quality infrastructure. He stated that today’s gathering included participation of four local communities from Srpska, able to accept such investors, and that today he expected greater interest from Serbian investors. - The Government of the Republic of Srpska is committed to reforms and there are many laws focusing on attracting investments – said Ćorić, who hopes for a larger trade volume.

Mlađen Cicović, head of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Serbia, which is organizing the Days of Srpska in Serbia including this conference on investing in the Republic of Srpska, said that the Representation‘s job was to work on encouraging economic cooperation between Srpska and Serbia.

– Cooperation between Serbia and Srpska at the highest, state level is better than ever, the cooperation between the two governments, of Serbia and Republic of Srpska, and cooperation between the two chambers of commerce is also excellent, and relying on all this good cooperation, by this conference we want to achieve a more fruitful and successful economic cooperation in both directions, for us in the Republic of Srpska as well as for those investing from Serbia and those yet to invest in the Republic of Srpska – said Cicović.

Source and photo: Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia