The U.S. administration under Joe Biden will work on the return of multilateralism, stability and predictability of international relations, and the indirect effects of US political engagement in the Western Balkans and economic reforms to move closer to the EU and NATO could be extremely “large and productive” for Bosnia, said professor Anto Domazet, from the Faculty of Economics and Business in Sarajevo.

“The principle of multilateralism is especially important, as disputes related to the implementation of international agreements, such as free trade, protection of intellectual property, cooperation in climate change prevention, cooperation in health and other areas, are being resolved by multilateral institutions and are not exclusively under the monopoly of the leading countries of the world,” Domazet said.

According to Domazet, the first thing that should be done on this course is to correct what the United States under Trump did when it rejected multilateralism.

“Particularly the return of the United States to the World Health Organization with a full contribution to its activities to contain the pandemic and to other goals of its global mission, then the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and its implementation, regardless of how difficult this will be for the US, the US contribution to the functionality of the United Nations, especially in implementing the UN Agenda 2030 on the implementation of global sustainable development goals, and returning to the World Trade Organization as a place to resolve burning conflicts and misunderstandings in trade with China and the EU,” he said.

“With a closer rapprochement with the EU and NATO, such changes could lead to the much-desired relaxation of relations in the world's geopolitical constellations, regardless of the fact that a number of contradictions, sources of latent conflicts and geopolitical confrontations will remain unresolved,” he said.

The US, as a military, political and economic force, has contributed to and profited the most from globalisation and the country is now responsible for maintaining and developing it further, he argued.

Some global issues can not be managed by countries or regions by themselves, such as the system of global security, human rights and freedoms, freedom of movement, ideas, goods, capital, information, global climate change prevention system, the health care system and others, he explained.

According to Domazet, an extremely valuable thing the Biden administration can now do is create trust, “which can result in the economic optimism which is much needed for global recovery and post-crisis growth.”

“The turn from the ‘America First’ orientation towards multilateralism does not have to be to the detriment of the United States, because that orientation did not benefit the American people and did not move away from its populist content as a front for reducing taxes on big capital and enormously increasing economic and social inequalities in the country. This turnaround can only benefit both the U.S. and the world. This turn is a direct and indirect opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.

The direct impacts of the new US administration on BiH's economic development are limited by the low volume of foreign trade, but “the indirect effects of US political engagement in the Western Balkans and BiH on fostering political and economic reforms and moving closer to the EU and NATO could be extremely large and productive,” he said.

“With the achievement of the required level of attractiveness of the business environment, political stability, improvement of the rule of law, raising the sustainability of emigration from BiH and elimination of corruption, these effects could be manifested very quickly,” he added.

However, Domazet said that nobody, not even Biden’s administration, can hand prosperity to Bosnia on a platter. Bosnia needs to fight for that prosperity persistently and wisely and the EU, the US and other friendly countries and multilateral development institutions should be treated as desirable partners in these efforts, he concluded.