Investment Corporation of Dubai signed a very important Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Canton Sarajevo yesterday in Sarajevo City Hall.
The Memorandum that commits to cooperation, although it does not specify projects, was signed by the Executive Director of Arab companies Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani and the Prime Minister of CS Elmedin Konakovic, and the event was attended by numerous personalities from the world of politics and business in BiH.
It is the result of several meetings between representatives of the Government of CS and representatives of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, which will give the possibility for developing a feasibility study at several locations in Canton Sarajevo to the company and to submit requirements for possible future investments to the Government of CS.
Arab Investment Fund, one of the strongest investment funds from Dubai, is already present in BiH and, according to Prime Minister Konakovic, it is the most deserving for the expansion of tourism and agricultural development in BiH.
According to Al Shaibani, it is one of the biggest lobbyists for BiH in the Gulf countries.
“I worked very hard in order for Fly Dubai to establish direct airline with Sarajevo,” he said and explained that, also, two years ago was agreed agricultural corporation with Zeraa Agriculture Investment which bought factory Bosnaplod in Brcko, in whose equipment was invested about 10 million EUR in recent months and directly employed hundreds of people and thousands indirectly . Recently, the Hepok Company from Mostar was also purchased, which is a great investment in agriculture. We are hoping for a large employment and modernization of the current capacity of the company,” said Al Shaibani.
Since the Memorandum marked the beginning of cooperation, but without specifying in which projects will invest Arab investors, Konakovic explained that representatives of the Government of CS visited several destinations from Bjelasnica to Jajce barracks with representatives of Investment Corporation of Dubai and that there are 5-6 interesting projects for them, as well as that the financing of the whole process will be done by the Arab Fund.
“The Government of CS is promoting space for foreign investment for 17 months. We attracted the interest of serious investors who are already working in BiH, and the entire space of Skenderija will be in special focus in the future. We will perform a detailed analysis of its condition over the next 12-15 months and the entire space with aspect of urban planning documentation and space investment,” said Konakovic.
Investment Corporation of Dubai is State Investment Fund of Dubai, and it is owner of Fly Dubai, Fly Emirates, hotel chains One & Only and Atlantis. They entered BiH by opening tourism, invested in agriculture, and bought Porte Montenegro in Montenegro.
According to Amer Bukvic, director of BBI Bank, what is particularly important to note is that after the Investment Corporation of Dubai came other investors as well.
“They are followed by other investors in the countries in which they enter,” said Bukvic.
(Source: A. P./Klix.ba)
