The BiH Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović and the President of the State Office for Trade Policy of Croatia Denis Čajo signed the additional Protocol on the amendments of the agreement between BiH and Croatia and the mutual protection of investments.
Minister Šarović said that the added Protocol does not change the basic principles of the agreement between BiH and Croatia given that investments made by investors of one contracting party on the territory of the other contracting side is further protected through guaranteeing equitable treatment, physical security protection, treatment of the most favored nations and national treatment and fair compensation in the case of expropriation.
As it was said, changes comprise the introduction of the restrictions on the free transfer of funds related to investments, which is guaranteed by the Treaty and that is only in the case that the EU adopts measures that are based in this area. These types of measures and restrictions will not last longer than six months.
Minister Šarović also expressed that it is in the interest of BiH, even after Croatia becomes an EU member on 1 July, for Croatian companies to invest in BiH, including big Croatian brands that have their markets in BiH and beyond.
He added that with BiH signing an additional protocol to the basic contract, it has done something similar as other countries when they entered the EU, such as the Czech Republic and Romania.
The President of the State Office for Trade Policy of Croatia Denis Čajo said that he expects that cooperation between the two friendly and neighboring countries would develop after Croatia enters the EU. He added that the goal of Croatia is to rapidly remove barriers on exports from BiH to Croatia and with that the EU and Croatia area ready to provide assistance in this process.
The agreement between BiH and Croatia on the mutual protection of investments was signed on 26 February 1996. This agreement was amended, which the two countries signed on 23 July 2002, and entered into force on 3 January 2005.
