The ninth Sarajevo International Business Forum (SBF), which hosts a large number of officials and business people from the region and the world, commenced today in Sarajevo, giving them an opportunity to get acquainted with the business and investment opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the region.
The leading business and investment conference in South East Europe is organized by the Bosnian Bank International (BBI) in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) under the auspices of the Bosnian Presidency.
The Forum was opened in the Bosnian Parliament building by the BBI Bank CEO Amer Bukvic who said that representatives of governments and business people from more than 50 countries of the world will take part in this year's Forum.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic said that that the Sarajevo Business Forum is an opportunity for everyone to benefit.
“We've been meeting here for the past nine years to share experiences, ideas, make good things, and make valuable investments. The SBF is an opportunity for everyone to benefit. In the past nine years, Bosnia and its capital Sarajevo, have become an attractive place for investors from around the world,” Izetbegovic said. “Bosnia is a perfect place for business meetings of people from the East and the West. Bosnia offers all the business people at the SBF great investment opportunities.”
He added that during the past 9 years, Bosnia has changed significantly and many reforms have been implemented. He also confirmed that the number of employees has increased by around 50,000 in the past three years and that unemployment is on a constant decline.
“Our GDP grows within the set projections. We have recorded a strong export growth and a public spending decline. The state and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity levels are functioning without the International Monetary Fund’s loans which we depended on previously,” Izetbegovic concluded.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Bosnia’s Council of Ministers Chairman Denis Zvizdic said that the gross domestic product in 2016 amounted to record BAM 30 billion, with a significant increase in 2017 and in the first months of 2018. The average annual inflation was below 1.3 percent and the unemployment rate fell below 20 percent. The Public debt is duly repaid and reduced and Bosnia is the least-indebted country both in the region and in Southeast Europe.
Foreign direct investments in 2017 had increased by 58.6 percent compared to the previous year. The largest foreign investors are Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Italy, Zvizdic concluded.
The focus of this year’s Forum is the joint solution to the use of potentials in the field of energy, education, IT, agriculture and tourism. The aim of the Forum is to link and present all the natural and human resources of the region and to open the foreign markets to Bosnian and regional companies.
The motto of this year’s forum is “One Region, One Economy.”
