In the presence of numerous dignitaries from the country and abroad, the 20th international trade fair Tešanj 2026 began today at the location of the company “Kamelia” in Matuzići, in the area of the Municipality of Doboj Jug.
The event will last until September 26, and as pointed out by the president of the Association of Jelah-Tešanj Business Center Saća Prnjavorac, this year they gathered a record number of more than 800 exhibitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina and about 20 countries of the region and the world. The partner country, of which they are particularly proud, this year is the United States of America, while the partner city is the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo.
The municipality of Tešanj, she added, has been a partner of this fair since its very beginning, and they are proud to be celebrating their 20th anniversary this year.
-Twenty years is not just a jubilee. That’s 20 years of work, trust, partnerships, business meetings and joint investment in the development of the economy – emphasized Prnjavorac, and pointed out that they offered partners 8,000 m² of indoor and an additional 15,000 m² of outdoor exhibition space.
The central theme of this year’s fair will be the energy sustainability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a focus on the Southern Gas Interconnection, and she expressed her belief that “Tešanj will send a strong message that BiH has something to offer to the international market”.
Chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina John Ginkel expressed his satisfaction that this year his country is celebrating a great jubilee – the 250th anniversary of independence, and the Fair in Tešnje is celebrating its 20th edition, at which they are a partner country.
“We are happy that we will be able to present our companies, and their participation reflects the strong interest of American companies in finding new partners and business opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the end, trade comes down to connecting companies, entrepreneurs and government institutions, and events like this fair, like the Tešanj Economic Fair, give us the opportunity to turn these contacts into concrete partnerships and long-term investments,” said Ginkel.
He invited everyone to take advantage of the opportunity and get to know the American companies participating in the fair, in order to explore the possibilities of cooperation.
“Our participation is an opportunity for a new partnership of American companies with BiH, new connections between universities, companies… This fair gives us an opportunity to deepen our partnership and connect even better. The fact that there are 800 exhibitors here speaks volumes about the seriousness of the fair,” said Ginkel.
The Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Nikšić, pointed out that there is no need to talk about the economy in Tešnje, and that it is enough just to look at what is there.
“Companies that export, invest, employ and successfully compete on the European and world markets operate here, and that is why Tešanj is much more than a local success story. He shows what can be achieved when people have ideas, knowledge, willingness to work and to take risks,” Prime Minister Nikšić said.
Businessmen, he emphasized, must know how much energy will cost, how long to wait for permits, how long it takes to transport goods and what rules will apply when they decide to invest.
“The institutions here have a very clear job and task. Our job is to facilitate their business, create conditions for investment, employment and export. The results of that work must, in the end, be seen in real life and in the company’s operations.
When we talk about business conditions, the question of energy is, today, one of the most important…” – said Nikšić, and because of that he expressed particular satisfaction that this year’s partner of the fair is the USA and its economy.
He added, this is one of the most important partners, and the cooperation around the Southern Gas Interconnection shows that “international partnerships can bring concrete benefits to BiH”. For economic development, he added, in addition to energy, communication connectivity is also very important.
With the recent release into traffic, as your mayor (Suad Huskić) said, of the subdivision Doboj Jug – Medakovo, this area got direct access to the highway. For citizens, this means a faster and shorter journey; for the economy, this means faster transport of goods, easier access to markets and better conditions for business – said Nikšić.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Denis Zvizdić pointed out that a safe and stable BiH is a prerequisite for economic growth. In addition to political stability, he added, dedication to reforms is needed, which must be based on good planning and project preparation where we have good competitive advantages.
“Primary support should go towards domestic production and export and the opening of new industrial zones and technological parks,” said Zvizdić.
Prime Minister ZDK Nezir Pivić said that as a government they are doing everything to help the development of the economy and that, in the past three years of their mandate, they have invested about 40 million KM to stimulate the economy of that canton. Tešanj, he added, showed how the economy is developing by organizing this fair.
“Two decades of business meetings, new partnerships, investments, ideas and trust. This is a confirmation of a strong entrepreneurial spirit that made Tešanj recognizable far beyond the borders of ZDK and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That’s why I congratulate the Association of Businessmen “Biznis centar” Jelah-Tešanj, all the people who built this fair during these twenty years, as well as the businessmen from Tešanj who, with their work, have made it possible to speak with pride about Tešanj as one of the most important economic centers of our country,” said Pivić.
And the mayor of Tešnj, Suad Huskić, pointed out that the fact that this year’s partner country is the world’s largest economy, the USA, speaks volumes about what the fair in Tešnj has grown into. 20 years ago, he says, few could have expected this from a relatively small municipality, which is far from the main traffic routes and without large economic systems.
In the past 10 years, Huskić pointed out, the municipality he leads has seen an increase in business entities by about 40 percent, and more than 4,000 jobs have been created.
Just last month, Tešanj was ahead of Tuzla, Zenica and Mostar in terms of fiscal turnover. We achieved a higher fiscal turnover than the nine headquarters of cantons in FBiH…
If the FBiH had the economic indicators that Tešanj has today, it would have 137,000 new jobs, approximately 78 billion in additional fiscal turnover and around 17.7 billion KM in additional exports – underlined Huskić.
The head of the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo, which is a partner of the fair, Semir Efendić, said, among other things, that Novi Grad is mostly at the top of fiscal turnover in BiH and that a total of 9,160 business entities operate in the Municipality of Novi Grad. He added that some of the largest BiH companies are located in the territory of that municipality and that some of them will be presented at a separate stand at this fair, Fena writes.
