The Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of BiH (FIPA), the General Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Istanbul and the Chamber of Commerce of the Federation of BiH, in cooperation with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, organized the "Bosnia and Herzegovina Investment Day" in Istanbul on June 17^th.

The organization of the events was initiated by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and FIPA with the aim to introduce interested Turkish companies with the investment opportunities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the previous period, frequent visits by business delegations from Turkey to BiH were organized, but not always with serious intentions to invest.

The aim of this event was to present the profitable opportunities of BiH for Istanbul’s companies that have serious intentions to expand their business outside of Turkey. The Chamber of Commerce of Istanbul ITO and FIPA, with partner institutions, worked for several months on the preparation of the event, adequate agenda and selection of investment projects and companies.

The event was opened by Mr Šekib Avdagić, President of ITO. He highlighted the excellent cultural and political relations between Turkey and BiH, and the fact that investment relations are not at the level that is potentially possible and expected.

The Ambassador of BiH to Ankara Bakir Sadović emphasized the readiness and the will of the Embassy and Consulate, and all institutions in BiH to serve Turkish investors.

The FIPA Director Gordan Milinić, as the main organizer, pointed out the basic services that FIPA provides to investors, organization of meetings, finding investment locations and the support it provides in the post-investing phase or during the reinvestment process.

FIPA representative Nina Pobrić presented the basic advantages of BiH for investing, as well as attractive sectors and projects.

The profit tax rate for companies in BiH is 10%, and in Turkey it is 22%. BiH provides easier transport of products to the EU market, for what Turkish investors are interested by using the free trade regime for the region and the EU. It was presented an overview of other operational costs, the structure of the workforce and education system, and the legislative and reform processes that are being implemented in BiH.

Muzafer Cilek, Honorary Consul of BiH in Bursa, owner of the company Cilek, the largest manufacturer of children's furniture, then Yusuf Dilaver, CEO of Turkish Ziraat BH, and Murat Unganer, co-owner of the Bjelašnica White Apartments Project, also presented their experiences with business in BiH. All businessmen pointed out that they are satisfied with the business results in BiH, that Turkish investments should be higher in the coming period and that business procedures are relatively complicated, but not more than in all other countries of the world.

Mr Cilek operates in more than 90 countries and believes that BiH is no longer more complicated than others, but it is necessary to work on transparency and access to clients.

The Deputy Chairman of the Federation Chamber of Commerce Mirsad Jašarspahić presented the work of the services of the Chamber and the support they provide to the companies.

Mr Šekib Avdagić and Turkish businessmen have concluded that there are all prerequisites for Turkey to be, not 11, but among the top five investor countries and that it should continue to organize similar events in Turkey.

In addition, representatives of the Ministry of Trade of Turkey have promised assistance and support to Turkish investors who want to invest in BiH, which will contribute to increase Turkish investments in BiH.

After the plenary session B2B meetings were held between companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey related to trade and investments. Turkish companies have shown interest in projects from BiH and have agreed on the first visits to BiH.

The present Turkish companies operate in the metal-processing sector, the automotive manufacturing sector, food production, furniture, chemical industry, tourism, and textile industry.

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest chambers of commerce in the world, with a registered membership of 450,000 companies.