A unified regional market, adequate use of resources, improvement of agriculture, tourism, energy development, creative industries, and demographics. These are all topics of the seventh Jahorina Economic Forum, under the motto “Western Balkans – Long-term Directions for Development.”
The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who is the patron of this forum, emphasized that Srpska’s economy is stable and open for cooperation, as evidenced by 10 billion KM in investments that are being realized.
The forum has gathered 600 participants from 20 countries, who will discuss economic challenges and development over the next three days.
In a short period, the Jahorina Economic Forum has grown into a prestigious regional business event. The presence of companies from Greece, Serbia, Germany, and China’s Huawei confirms this. This year, as in previous years, through dialogue, panels, and expert lectures, the goal is to generate conclusions that will improve the standard of living for citizens and support the business community.
- A hundred speakers will discuss all the topics that are important and should determine the long-term development directions of the Western Balkans on 16 panels. The forum will create certain policies aimed at the relevant institutions of Republika Srpska and BiH and produce conclusions that are interesting for the region – said Goran Račić, president of the Jahorina Economic Forum.
The economic situation is much better than the political one; in Republika Srpska, both the average and minimum wages have increased. There are more workers in the real sector, and foreign investments are present. However, we face the departure of the workforce because the EU has opened its market, said the president of Republika Srpska at the opening of the Forum.
- It is important for us to hold this forum. Republika Srpska has a growing economy, the least indebted economy, with only 31% of the domestic product. We have created new jobs, with over 5,000 new jobs created since the beginning of this year alone. Republika Srpska has an increased absolute amount of GDP, which was 16 billion KM at the end of 2023 and will be 19 billion KM at the end of this year, indicating that investments and dynamic economic activity are taking place in Republika Srpska – Dodik emphasized.
At the opening, it was mentioned that after Belgrade Waterfront, Jahorina is the largest construction site in the region. East Sarajevo is proud to host a significant forum, which has already become a brand of Republika Srpska.
- In Republika Srpska, such events are organized every year, confirming that Srpska is a place for dialogue and regional cooperation, aiming to establish our business community in regional and global markets. It is very important that Republika Srpska leads a policy of dialogue and stability, while the messages from others in BiH who do not understand the call for regional cooperation, especially regarding the “Open Balkan” initiative, are worrying – said Staša Košarac, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Innovations in agriculture, energy, and economic sectors are crucial for the survival of any society. The development of tourism and the use of artificial intelligence are just some of the topics that business people from the region and the world will discuss and seek the best solutions for.
- We have an important panel on demographics, which is probably one of the key problems in these areas, and I think we will be forced to define future economic growth models in accordance with demographics. In this sense, I believe the forum is getting better every year – emphasized Dragan Šagovanović from the Association of Economists of Serbia.
The focus of the Jahorina Economic Forum today was the Central Interview with the president of Srpska, where Dodik emphasized that there is no economic development without political stability, which is ensured in Republika Srpska, but the geopolitical situation negatively affects the economy.
- I think that the economy has never depended on global politics as much as it does today. If you come to the position where some countries have to follow Western policies towards Russia, it means losing cheap energy, as Germany has shown. It only took three to four years for the German economy to significantly decline, and when their economy falls, it affects our exporters and producers, who have fewer orders – said Dodik.
Dodik reiterated the advantages of the “Open Balkan” initiative, which simplifies procedures for entrepreneurs in the region. He illustrated how attractive Republika Srpska is for investors with the example of German authorities, who formally withdrew from investing in wind farms in Herzegovina as a punishment to Srpska’s leadership, but their businessmen do not want to leave and want to stay in these projects.
- The main story is that despite having many people from the West doing business here, there is almost no place in Republika Srpska without some investment in the automotive industry or some kind of production important for the European market – said Dodik.
Dodik highlighted that Republika Srpska has 120 kilometers of built highway, work is underway on the section from Doboj to Modriča, and an agreement has been made with the Chinese to build towards the Brčko District, then towards Bijeljina, and from Rača to Bijeljina is already under construction.
The Jahorina Economic Forum will continue tomorrow with topics dedicated to the unified regional market.
Source: RTRS
