The Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, today at a business forum in the Italian city of Udine, invited businessmen from Italy to come and invest in the Republika Srpska, and presented the advantages of investing in the Srpska.
Višković emphasized that among these advantages are the favorable geographical location, proximity to the EU, government incentives for investment, the most favorable tax rates in the region, and the favorable price of electricity.
He pointed out that investing in Republika Srpska is safe, and that the Government wants to cooperate with everyone on a partnership basis, the Government Public Relations Bureau announced.
“A good example of how Republika Srpska treats investors is the Italian company PMP, which has been operating in Srpska for 20 years, as well as 15 other companies from Italy, which carry out their production activities in Republika Srpska,” said Višković, who is with the Minister of Economy and entrepreneurship Vojin Mitrović participated in the work of the business forum, which was organized by the Association of Businessmen from Italy “Confidustria”.
Višković and Mitrović presented the potential of Republika Srpska and the advantages of investment to Italian businessmen, and answered the questions of potential investors.
The Prime Minister said that in the Republic of Srpska, cheap labor is not an advantage, but a workforce that is professional and capable.
“Our workers perform their work and the task of the institutions of the Republika Srpska professionally and with quality, and my task as prime minister is to be a service to every investor,” Višković said.
He stated that, in addition to energy, metal and processing industry, agriculture and tourism are also areas that provide a good basis for new investments.
Minister Mitrović spoke about the economic environment and pointed out that Republika Srpska is ranked among 10 countries and regions in competition out of 350, as a good destination where it is worth investing.
“Procedures have been reduced from 21 days to three days and we are working together with you to start a business in Srpska as easily and quickly as possible”, said Mitrović and added that the Government is working with local communities to offer and simplify procedures, as well as with the education system on education and workforce profiling.
He said that the Government’s determination is to create as favorable an environment as possible in the coming period.
“We are working on digitization and creating incentives for investors. Every businessman is important to us, and we pay special attention to those who invest more than five million KM and employ more than 100 workers,” said Mitrović and stated that there is also a tax refund and contribution, as and that Srpska helps up to 30 percent of investments.
At the business forum in Udine today, the cities of Gradiška and Laktaši presented their potential.
The Minister of Economy and Tourism in the Government of the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia Sergio Emidini Bini said at the forum that the government of this region is closely following the development of cooperation and bilateral relations with the Balkan countries, and that this region has agreements on cooperation with regions in the Balkans.
He thanked the delegation of the Government of the Republic of Srpska for visiting Trieste and presenting the potential of Srpska and opportunities for investment.
Assistant Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship Slobodanka Dubravac said that there is a highway from Trieste to Banja Luka, and that Republika Srpska is building new kilometers of highways, which makes it competitive.
“The Republika Srpska offers access to the CEFTA market, EFTA and Turkey, which is especially important for export-oriented investors,” Dubravac said and stated that Italy is the second largest foreign investor and foreign trade partner of the Republika Srpska.
Speaking about the advantages for investment, Dubravac pointed out that in the Republic of Srpska the non-taxable part of the income amounts to 511 euros, and that there is no tax on dividends.
She pointed out that the tax base of investors who invest in technology is reduced.
“In the past 10 years, there has been no increase in business costs, but we have worked to reduce income rates and parafiscal burdens,” said the Assistant Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship.
SRNA