Istanbul Chamber of Industry Organized ‘Bosnia Herzegovina Day’ Event

• 02.09.2021
• News

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Day - Trade and Investment Potential Seminar was conducted by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) to assess the economic cooperation and investment opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a key Balkan country. The event was organized as a videoconference with the participation of a large number of industrialists and business people who were interested in economic opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Burçin Değirmencioğlu
Deputy Secretary General, ICI

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, ICI's Deputy Secretary-General Burçin Değirmencioğlu said that Türkiye exports US$445 million against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s imports of US$205 million. “Both countries are substantially below their current potential even though the volumes of trade have increased over the years” said Değirmencioğlu. “We should aim to increase these figures to higher levels in the short term given the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, in force since 2003 and revised in 2019.”

K. Sevgin Güngör, Commercial
Counselor in Sarajevo,
Ministry of Trade

After Değirmencioğlu, Commercial Counselor of Türkiye in Sarajevo, K. Sevgin Güngör held a presentation with the title of “Trade, Cooperation and Investment Opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Güngör said; “Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has a population of three million people, has a fixed exchange rate regime. The per capita GDP of the country is roughly $5,900. Bosnia and Herzegovina exports the most to Germany, and Türkiye ranks eighth in its exports. The country imports primarily from Germany and Türkiye ranks sixth in imports”. Güngör also stated that Türkiye mostly imports sunflower and furniture components while exporting mainly centered upon textile products, medicines, and heaters. Güngör pointing out our strong export potential in automotive, textile, construction materials, furniture subsidiary industries, processed agricultural products, packaging materials, and electric machinery, and listed Bosnia and Herzegovina's strategic location, macroeconomic stability, and abundance of natural resources among the advantages of the country.

After that, a panel was organized with the topic of “Experiences of Companies Doing Business in Bosnia and Herzegovina” and moderated by Mehmet Akif Meral, ICI's Assistant Manager responsible for EU and International Relations. During the panel, Muzaffer Çilek, the President of DEIK's (Foreign Economic Relations Board) Türkiye - Bosnia and Herzegovina Business Council; Özlem Vergon, Assistant General Manager of Strategy in Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları; and Halim Sırçancı, Head of Supply Chain in Kastamonu Entegre Ağaç San.ve Tic. A.Ş. shared their experiences in the Bosnia and Herzegovina market. Panelists answered the questions from the audience at the end of the panel.