During the meeting on Monday between Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Stasa Kosarac and Ambassador of Austria to BiH Ulrike Hartmann, it was noted that bilateral relations between the two countries are good and friendly, without open issues, but it was added that there is a lot of room for improvement of existing economic cooperation.
With regard to BiH’s progress on the European path, Minister Kosarac said that European Union integration is BiH’s foreign policy priority, while Ambassador Hartmann stressed that Austria fully supports these aspirations of BiH.
The interlocutors stated that political stability and the rule of law are of paramount importance for businessmen and foreign investors, and Minister Kosarac expressed confidence that the new convocation of the Council of Ministers of BiH would base the work on economy and finding solutions to burning issues, and would coordinate activities with other levels of government in BiH.
Particular attention was paid to the issue of harmonization of legal regulations of Federation of BiH entity and Republika Srpska entity, in order to facilitate business for foreign investors. In this context, the need to create a single economic market in BiH was mentioned.
During the meeting, interlocutors also discussed cooperation in the field of agriculture, especially in the field of organic production, where Austria has a leading position. Minister assessed that BiH would greatly benefit from the exchange of experience with Austria, primarily in the creation and implementation of legislation and standards in this area.
They also discussed the improvement of tourism potential in BiH, and Minister Kosarac particularly addressed the possibility of developing rural tourism, which he said could be BiH’s chance. He said that BiH has comparative advantages in this segment, and stressed the importance of sharing experiences and applying successful Austrian practices, Oslobodenje news portal reports.
