Šarović in Russia at the largest energy fair

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović is staying in the Russian Federation, where he participated in the international energy forum „Russian Energy Week“. This is the largest energy summit of its kind in the world, opened by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and attended by leaders of the largest oil, gas and other energy producers, reports Patria News Agency.

The aim of this major event is to present the potential for the development of international cooperation in the field of energy, the development of the global energy sector, as well as major gas projects and the expansion of some of them, such as the so-called Turkish Stream.

Addressing the attendees at this prestigious gathering, Minister Šarović specifically emphasized the need to improve energy efficiency from the perspective of energy stability and environmental protection.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that has significant potential for improving energy efficiency. Energy consumption per unit of GDP, which is one of the most important energy indicators of a country, is almost 2.5 times higher in BiH than the world average - stated the minister, emphasizing the necessity of introducing planned energy efficiency measures and the importance of support and cooperation with both EU member states and Russia.

In order to secure the necessary support from Russia for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the World Trade Organization, Minister Šarović, during his stay in Moscow, met with Gruzdev Alexey Vladimirovich, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia, and Medvedko Yuriy Yurievich, Russia's chief negotiator for the accession of third countries to the WTO. After the meeting, Minister Šarović expressed satisfaction with the visible progress in the negotiations and the readiness of the Russian side to significantly revise its initial demands.

A meeting was also held with the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor). It was stated that, after the removal of last year's obstacles, the export of fruits and vegetables from Bosnia and Herzegovina is proceeding smoothly, and a record export of over 50 million KM is expected in 2017. For the first seven months, fruits and vegetables worth 34 million KM were exported, which is 15% more than in the whole of 2016. BiH is expected to remove the identified shortcomings on farms and export facilities as soon as possible in order to obtain permission for the export of meat and food of animal origin to the Russian Federation in the coming months. In order to fulfill this important obligation, precise activities and deadlines have been agreed upon.

As part of the visit, Minister Šarović will also visit Bosnian-Herzegovinian businessmen engaged in Russia, as well as leading Russian distributors of medicines and pharmaceutical products.