The Office of the EU Special Representative hosted the first in a series of six conferences on leadership in business and socio-economic reforms on 14 November 2016 in Tuzla.
Under the slogan ‘One step at a time’, the conference brought together 115 representatives of business community, NGOs, local authorities and academia. Participants focused on the BiH business sector and presented business opportunities, problems and possibilities for company growth by using practical examples. Business challenges and competitiveness in the context of approaching the European markets were also discussed.
“Successful business is absolutely crucial for the economic growth and creating new jobs. BiH economy has started growing, quite significantly, between 3 and 4 percent,” said Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark. “The citizens do want to know where the concrete improvements and how results of reforms will affect their life. I can say that this is a ‘one step at a time’ approach and that it is important to continue with the reform efforts. And we, as the EU, are ready to support it because we want to see more trade between our markets and more investments in BiH“.
The conference participants had the opportunity to express their opinions on the ongoing reform processes. Through the interactive voting on 13 socio-economic reform priorities following areas have been highlighted as top priorities: education reform, reduction of tax burden on labour, facilitation of export, reduction of para fiscal fees and reduction of tax burden on investments.
On issues related to the business environment, more than 90 percent of conference participants stated that the improvement of the business environment was the key priority for their city. Moreover, 64 percent of participants replied positively when asked whether they would invest in BiH if they were a foreign investor.
Business Leadership Conferences will take place in five more cities: Mostar, Bijeljina, Bihać, Banja Luka and Sarajevo. Eminent experts from BiH and the region will speak about companies that successfully operate or export to the European Union, discuss challenges they face and organizational capacities necessary for enterprises and governments to access the EU market. The next Conference will be held at the Intera Technology Park in Mostar on November 23, 2016.
