Hahn with Šibonjić and ZEPS delegation on economic cooperation between Zenica-Doboj Canton, BiH, and Austria

(Patria) - Former EU Commissioner, advisor to the Federation of Austrian Industry, and from January 1, 2026, the new Chairman of the Main Board of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) Johannes Hahn received the Minister of Economy of Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDK) Samir Šibonjić in Vienna today.

The meeting was also attended by a delegation from the International General BH Fair of Economy ZEPS, which included Director Elvir Ajanović, Executive Director Sanel Ibrić, Director of Corporate Communications Adis Hasaković, as well as Hurem Avdić, Director of ViennaLink, a business agency representing ZEPS in Austria.

Subsequently, a meeting was also held with Igor Sekardi, Director of the Department for External Relations and Markets of this influential industrial institution in Austria.

The topic of discussion was the institutional positioning of ZEPS, Austria's role in economic cooperation, opportunities and joint initiatives, as well as investment opportunities in ZDK and Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.

The delegation also took the opportunity to congratulate Hahn on his new position as Governor of the Austrian Central Bank.

Hahn himself presented several ideas and proposals on how to improve these relations in terms of institutional support for Austrian companies' participation at the ZEPS fair.

The Federation of Austrian Industry will invite its 5,000 members, which are the largest Austrian companies, to participate in ZEPS next year.

In the second step, Hahn stated that it should be explored which Austrian companies are present in BiH and organize fair presentations for them, as well as investment opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and what are the advantages and benefits of investing in our country.

Minister Šibonjić further invited Austrian investors to invest in ZDK, as there are excellent conditions, skilled workforce, low profit tax, favorable energy prices, and numerous industrial zones.

He presented the latest data on the trade exchange of ZDK with Austria in the period January-September 2025. Exports to Austria in this period amounted to 154.516 million KM, an increase compared to the same period last year when it was 146.942 million KM. Imports from Austria amounted to 66.827 million KM.

With the message "Business First", the International General BH Fair of Economy ZEPS will be held from September 2 to 5, 2026.

ZEPS is among the fast-growing fairs, representing today the largest multi-sectoral business platform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most significant in Southeast Europe.

More than 500 exhibitors from more than 15 countries participate in the ZEPS fair every year.

ZEPS is known for hosting an exceptionally large number of B2B meetings, with as many as 2,500 concrete business meetings recorded at the last fair alone, along with achieved concrete business agreements.

Precisely because of its reputation and regional significance, ZEPS 2026 is already positioning itself as the economic event of the year and a strategic place for strengthening regional and international economic cooperation, knowledge exchange, and the placement of products, innovations, and technologies.