Members of the PABiH - Western Europe Friendship Group discussed possibilities for strengthening economic cooperation with officials of the Federal Republic of Germany

Members of the Friendship Group for Western Europe of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH), who are in a three-day working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, met today in Berlin with Ansgar Heveling, the Chairman of Bundestag’s Committee on Internal Affairs, and Helge Tolksdorf, the Head of Unit for the European Union Enlargement, Southeast Europe and Turkey of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, to discuss the possibilities for strengthening economic cooperation and greater investment in the economy of our country.

Members of the Delegation of the PABiH Friendship Group, consisting of Chairperson of the Group, Nermina Kapetanovic, Deputy Chairperson of the Group, Bariša Čolak, and members of the Group, Mirsad Đonlagić, Maja Gasal - Vražalica, Sead Kadić, Milica Marković and Hanka Vajzović, were presented the outline of the "Berlin plus" programme, through which German Government plans to financially support economic reforms and development in the future, as well as infrastructure projects in the Western Balkan countries, for their faster integration into the European Union (EU).

In this connection, German officials emphasised that our country has huge economic potential and strongly underlined the desire of friendly country’s government institutions to help strengthening BiH economy, especially in the light of stopping the increased brain drain from Bosnia and Herzegovina Germany has already sent experts to Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are tasked to analyse the possibility of introducing a dual system of education, which closely links education to economy and favours the practice of students in commercial enterprises, it was said at the meetings.

Chairperson of the PABiH Friendship Group for Western Europe, Nermina Kapetanović, pointed out that there are many untapped opportunities for improvement of economic cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Federal Republic of Germany, particularly in the fields of wood, metal and textile industries, production of health foods, exploitation of drinking water, which is rated as the best in the world, as well as tourism. Ms. Kapetanović urged German officials to encourage investors to invest in BiH and to visit the BiH Council of Ministers and Entity’s governments to hear about opportunities for investment in our economy.

The establishment of a joint working group was agreed at these meetings, which would, within the framework of the continuation of the Berlin Process, explore the possibilities of achieving more efficient economic cooperation between Germany and BiH. First meeting of this working group is scheduled for this year’s October in our country. (End)