More than 50 economic players in the Principality participated on Wednesday, April 26, at the Ambassador’s Lunch of the Monaco Economic Board (MEB), devoted to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country’s Ambassador, HE Ivan Orlic, said that his country is not only a crossroads of cultures that has shaped Europe, but also a place of opportunity for investors.
In 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina filed an official application for membership of the European Union. Its currency – the convertible mark – is pegged to the euro.
After a one-off slowdown in 2014, the country is again enjoying growth of more than three percent and optimism is high for the next few years. The World Bank’s annual “Doing Business 2016” ranking confirms this, as Bosnia and Herzegovina has moved from position 131 to 81 in three years.
At the lunch, Ambassador Orlic also highlighted the main sectors that could provide opportunities for investors: agriculture, with a very promising niche market in medicinal herbs; tourism, rich in the variety of cultures and landscapes; the development of infrastructure that benefits from heavy foreign financing, and the banking sector, which is undergoing consolidation in which many European banks have already invested heavily.
Gordan Milinic, Director of the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, described the strengths of his country. With an average monthly salary of €400, the cost of labour, linked with attractive regulations for companies and very modest inflation, are convincing arguments for investors. The signing of free trade agreements with the EU and many other countries has facilitated the development of trade relations.
MEB President Michel Dotta stressed that trade between Monaco and Bosnia and Herzegovina should be developed. This conference could well be an important step in the economic rapprochement of the two countries, he said.
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