The network of cooperation is consisting of representatives of nine municipalities, three cantons, one city, and 9 competent entities’ and state ministries. The goal of forming the network is to improve cooperation between the competent institutions with the business sector in order to facilitate running business to the existing investors and to encourage them to reinvest.

The Program of post-investment support to investors represents the first comprehensive program with the aim to motivate the existing investors in BIH from selected strategic sectors to reinvest and to improve links with the local economy.

At the meeting were analysed the results of the work of the network of cooperation for the first six months of 2013.

In the past six months, FIPA together with partner institutions visited 20 companies that have foreign investment, and that belong to the group of small and medium enterprises, and have invested around 80 million euros. Companies are belonging to the metal sector, automotive, agriculture and textile industry, and have a total of 3,366 employees. Although operating in a fairly complex conditions (due to external factors constant economic crisis of wider scale and because of the constant internal instability), 13 companies have already announced that by the end of the year they plans new investment of about 15 million and increasing the number of employees for about 400 new jobs places while the rest of the companies have not yet made ​​the decision to invest or are planning to keep the current number of employees.

As most complaints when it comes to the business environment in BIH, firms cite political instability, a long and costly procedure, rate of the charges and other fees, procedures related to indirect taxation, non-transparency of incentives and subsidies, labour legislation and the general lack of harmonization of legal regulations at all levels of authorities. Additional difficulties are made by undeveloped infrastructure, roads, water, sewage, supply of power and etc.

On this occasion, participants at the meeting exchanged views on how to develop the work of the network in the part relating to resolve obstacles in business for foreign investors and how to define the proposals of reforms for improving the business environment identified through visits to existing investors. They also discussed the coordination of partners in the network on issues related to resolution of outstanding issues faced by investors and to proposition and implementation reforms.

It was proposed a work plan of the network of cooperation for the next six months of 2013, it was selected key investors who will be visited in this period, and it was defined a plan and dynamics of visits to foreign investors for this period.

Creation of the network of cooperation for post-investment support to foreign investors in BIH, which consists of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) as coordinator of activities, and institutions at all level of authorities is foreseen by the Agreement on Cooperation between the Council of Ministers of BIH and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of Group of the World Bank, on the Improving the Business Environment and Competitiveness in BIH Project.

Mentioned institutions work together on providing support to the existing investors on the way to try to remove barriers in their business and in this manner they try to motivate them to reinvest in order to increase the number of employees and to improve economic development of the country.