Western Balkans Economy at 1965 European Level

The International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) will organize a round table discussion titled "Slovenia and the Western Balkans" in Ljubljana on Wednesday, reports the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

IFIMES states that wars ended in most Western Balkan countries about twenty years ago. However, if this region is compared to Europe in the post-World War II period, it can be clearly concluded that the Western Balkans are currently at an economic level where Europe was in 1965.

- At that time, Europe was already rebuilt and rapidly developing. The Western Balkans are now in a weaker state than before the breakup of the former common state - IFIMES states.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of Slovenia's more important partners in terms of goods exchange. Thus, the annual exchange of goods between Slovenia and BiH amounts to around 1.5 billion KM, so strengthening cooperation between these two countries is of great importance for the entire region, writes NAP