Networking of local communities in the region to start from BiH, aiming to revive the economy

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - An initiative committee for networking local communities from across the Balkans was formed in Sarajevo today with the aim of promoting and improving economic, tourist, and all other potentials. Around 40 local communities will be included in the network from the start, and they today elected five members of the initiative committee who are tasked with making all preparations for the cooperation to be officially established. The organizer of the two-day conference, the first day of which focused on the state of the wood sector, is Expo-invest.

Dinko Mujkić from the Wood Cluster "Furniture and Wood", one of the organizers of the event, emphasized at the press conference that the goal is to connect local communities with interested investors. He points out the interest of representatives of local communities and says that this work is continuous and will last throughout the year with the possibility of extension.

Institutional support will not be lacking.

- We supported this, and we will support other projects as well. In addition to exchanging experiences, the goal is also to be able to nominate and present certain projects to partners abroad - emphasized the President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, Ahmet Egrlić.

The Chamber of Commerce of FBiH believes that today's meeting is important, especially due to the information that the Western Balkan region is becoming interesting for new investments.

The day before, the importance of networking was also highlighted during the Wood Technology Conference "Sarajevo Wood Days 3".

By organizing such conferences, as stated by Dinko Mujkić from this cluster, efforts are being made to overcome the situation with the coronavirus, which is disrupting the global economy, and to enable domestic export-oriented companies and local communities to have the best possible promotion and strengthening of their capacities.

- The main goal is to show, not only in our country but also in the region and beyond, that we are functioning despite very difficult business conditions, so we will, I hope soon, when conditions for fairs are met, be present at these events again - stated Mujkić, adding that the furniture market in Western Europe has stabilized considerably.

The first signs of recovery of the BiH economy are already visible, as evidenced by statistical data on foreign trade, and among the sectors recording growth is the wood industry. The President of the Chamber of Commerce of FBiH, Mirsad Jašarspahić, added that old orders are slowly returning, but also that new orders are coming in, and the opportunity of so-called regrouping of supply chains in the processing industry is also being used, where major design brands, when it comes to furniture, are turning to subcontractors and suppliers closer to Europe, which includes the Western Balkans and BiH.