JOINT ACTION FOR ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTORS
The Director of the Foreign Investment
Promotion Agency of BiH (FIPA) Gordan Milinić and the Minister of the FBiH
Ministry of Environment and Tourism Edita Đapo met to discuss joint activities
in order to attract foreign investors in projects of tourism and environment
protection, and to organize joint promotion of the currently available from
these fields.
Commenting on the trend of inflow of foreign
investments in BiH in recent years, Mr Milinić pointed out the fact that the
political turbulences in the second and third quarter of 2016 (organizing a
referendum in the function of the election campaign of SNSD, and in this regard
recalling secession and war by some parties) are directly related to the
decline in the inflow of foreign investments. In this period, at the beginning
of meeting at FIPA, potential investors made questions about the political
situation and expressed concern for capital that they would eventually
invested.
Speaking about activities of FIPA on promotion
of BiH as an investment location, the Director Milinić pointed out among other
things that the promotion itself cannot compensate shortcomings of the system,
and that all relevant institutions should be engaged on the removal of barriers
to facilitate running business in our country.
In its database of contacts, FIPA has 6,700
potential investors with whom it communicates through various communication
channels on investment opportunities and that FIPA wants to animate to show
greater interest in the BiH projects. Among more than 500 investment projects
and locations that FIPA offers to foreign investors, there is a larger number
of projects in the field of tourism, for which there is a great interest of
foreign investors.
The Minister Đapo presented information on 100
investment projects of the Government of FBiH among which there are projects of
tourism and the environment, and that the Ministry is currently working on
creating recycling yards in FBiH.
It was concluded that problems related to the environment
protection slow down faster coming of foreign investors in certain projects,
including some energy projects worth several billion of BAM.
It was agreed that FIPA and Ministry jointly
participate in conferences where projects in the field of tourism and the
environment are promoted and where all relevant institutions are trying to
attract as many foreign investors, and that this year they organize an
Investment Conference on investing in tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.