The Ministry of Economy and Industry of Japan, following a decision of the Government of Japan, is financing a study project in order to explore investment opportunities in the Western Balkans region for Japanese investors, within which the representative of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co Ltd from Japan Shin Egishi visited the Foreign Investment promotion Agency of BiH (FIPA) to get more detailed information on investment opportunities in BiH.

Namely, the Government of Japan led by the Prime Minister Mr Abe, has launched an initiative to establish and expand economic cooperation in the Western Balkan region in a way to support Japanese companies to invest in this region, including BiH.

The Director of FIPA Gordan Milinić informed Mr Egishi on the competencies of the Agency in the field of promotion and attraction of foreign investments, on the work in the field of finding investors and providing support in realization of investments in BiH, on 8,000 existing contacts of potential investors, on 500 investment projects and on 300 sites for investing.

Information was also provided on investment sectors, the status of a foreign investor in BiH, and incentives for foreign investors.

He also pointed out that in October 2016, FIPA and Foreign Trade Chamber, in cooperation with the Japanese Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO) from Vienna and the Embassy of Japan in Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a visit of a Japanese business delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, comprised of representatives of 13 Japanese companies. Contacts with local businessmen were realized; however significant cooperation did not occur.

After collecting all the necessary information on investment opportunities in the Balkans within the mentioned study, a seminar on possibilities for investing in BiH for 150 Japanese companies will be held in Tokyo on February 15, 2019, at which the representatives of the Embassy of BiH, as well as the representative of FIPA in Tokyo will also participate.

It is expected that the above research will lead to the concrete investment of some of the Japanese companies in BiH.