The departure of families, young people, and even businessmen is the reality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The losses are multiple. However, looking at it from another angle, our country relies on the diaspora in many spheres of life. What our businessmen in the diaspora can do for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for domestic businessmen and how to preserve ties in cross-border cooperation, were the topics that were discussed at the first Diaspora Days organized in Travnik.
“We sensed that we are not yet ready for serious games, but we have the opportunity to hear from the first hand how and what should be – what is it that would attract our people to this country, and therefore any other investor,” says the mayor of Travnik Kenan Dautovic.
Explaining the reason for the gathering of Bosnians and Herzegovinans, both locals and those who have built successful business stories far from their homeland, Dautovic says that this is the only way to make up for missed time and opportunities. And many have built their business success outside the country where they were born.
“In an organized system, it can function much better and simpler – we know our obligations to the state, we must respect that,” explains Mirsad Fikic, owner of a company in Germany.
However, they were pleased with the invitation and the opportunity to hear them and offer a different approach to them and their needs, as well as the situation in the Travnica companies, which they visited and with whom they have the opportunity to connect.
“To know where the problems are, what stories are happening here now regarding investment, what are the challenges for our society”, explains Sanel Helda, owner of a company in Switzerland.
BiH Ambassador to Germany Jadranka Winbow states that local communities should be more active, they should provide more input to embassies in various countries, so that they can market that information, know which companies are in the local community, and know what the priorities of the local community are and what is most important to them.
And in order to increase investments – both from our citizens and foreign investors – legislation is the most important, says Biljana Abel, who arrived in Travnik from the USA less than five years ago and started a business. Facing a series of illogical phenomena, she suspected, she says, first that our laws are bad: “The more I was there, the more I saw that there are very good laws. However, there are violations of the law, unfortunately – not everything is controlled well, one can say”.
It is up to the people, however, and that it can be done differently, is confirmed by this first meeting of businessmen in Travnik who, if nothing else, offered a new vision of cooperation with our citizens outside the homeland who, unfortunately, are also divided there and need to be connected. At least through education, in which the learning of the mother tongue should be ensured first
“If they know the language – let them learn the culture, traditions, customs of various parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina – that will somehow keep them connected to their homeland,” Ambassador Winbow points out.
Otherwise, more than two million of them will be irretrievably lost, and then everyone is at a loss.
