Komšić with representatives of the Strategic Initiative for Self-Sufficiency of Domestic Production

(Patria) - Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić met today with representatives of the Strategic Initiative for Self-Sufficiency of Domestic Production and Strengthening the BiH Economy, Amer Bukvić, Dino Selimović, and Zoran Puljić.

During the meeting, prominent Bosnian-Herzegovinian businessmen and representatives of the initiative presented a vision for economic development through an action plan consisting of 180 active measures. The measures were discussed with a special emphasis on the current situation in light of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The representatives of the initiative highlighted, based on their insight into the current state of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian economy, the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina loses two billion marks annually in the food industry and 700 million marks in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the main focus of the presented action plan is on protecting domestic agricultural production, the pharmaceutical industry, and the energy sector.

It was emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic challenge has shown that economically developed Western countries, precisely during the pandemic, invested most of their economic efforts in the aforementioned sectors. In this regard, it was concluded that it is necessary to create a more favorable legislative framework and develop public policies that will protect domestic production without endangering the principle of free trade. The discussion also covered the ratio of imports to exports, the relationship between the private and public sectors in the context of GDP, and the need to consolidate the public sector under one roof for better functioning.

Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić emphasized that special attention in the area of domestic production should be paid to product quality to ensure their competitiveness in the market.

During the meeting, it was concluded that the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH should be particularly involved in the aforementioned activities.

The need for investments in sustainable energy sources was expressed, as well as securing a new branch of natural gas. The interlocutors agreed on the necessity of public education and strengthening awareness of the importance of domestic production, stating that it is of essential importance to launch a media campaign through modern technologies and new forms of marketing, noting that projects of this kind transcend all partial political interests and place the interests of the state and the domestic economy first.

In this regard, the member of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić expressed particular interest in the area of the Digital Economy, which is an integral part of the presented strategy for strengthening the entrepreneurship of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Also, during the meeting, there was talk about the formation of a Council for International Cooperation. It was concluded that the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić and the representatives of the initiative will intensify activities in the area of cooperation and projects in the coming period, about which the public will be informed in a timely manner.