Jahorina has become a symbol of successful organization and a meeting place for people from the public, private, and business sectors—people with vision who lead and inspire others through engagement in business communities—all with the aim of ensuring growth, development, and a stable life, said President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik at the 8th Jahorina Business Forum.
“We used to say we wanted Srpska to grow—and it did. Last year, the growth rate was 2.9%. Many might say that’s not impressive, but in today’s global context, that is an achievement worth recognizing,” said Dodik. “Republika Srpska also ensured a very low level of public debt last year and continued this trend into the current year. The debt stood at only 34% last year, and today it is even lower.”
Dodik emphasized that the absolute growth in gross domestic product in Republika Srpska amounted to 2 billion KM, while investments reached 2.8 billion KM last year.
He also pointed out that “many tried to isolate Republika Srpska, but we did not allow it.”
“Real life must prevail, and our overall development should depend on increasing investments. Republika Srpska inherited a large portion of public debt in 1992 and has regularly serviced it. Today, we are in a position to say that it has been resolved and repaid. Srpska has paid out war damage totaling around 400 million KM. We are not late with any payments—not by a single minute. That means we have excellent economic prospects,” Dodik stated.
He reiterated that Republika Srpska respects the Dayton Peace Agreement.
“However, under the pressure of various political agendas, we were the first to suffer. We’ve been prevented from undertaking large-scale public projects simply because BiH lacks clear and functional procedures to avoid delays. Fifteen years ago, we had an agreed-upon project to build a gas pipeline from Belgrade to Banja Luka, worth 2 billion KM, but it was blocked—because Sarajevo believes its role is to halt the development of Republika Srpska,” Dodik concluded.
Source: RTRS
