The President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has officially opened the Jahorina Economic Forum 2023 today in Jahorina named “Regional Integrations and BiH - Berlin Process and/or ‘Open Balkan’”.
The President Dodik said that the “Open Balkan” has been discussed for a long time, and that the benefits can be seen from the example of the countries that are already in this initiative.
The President of the Republic said that BiH should join the “Open Balkan” initiative.
“The term “Open Balkan” is such as it was closed for a long time and that is why it should be opened”, said the President of Srpska and reminded that he had supported this idea when he was a member of the BiH Presidency.
On this occasion, the President of the Republic pointed out that the business community in both the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of BiH believed that this should be accepted.
“This is how business people from the FBiH and all institutions in the Republic of Srpska reacted. I can only guess the political decisions on why it cannot be done”, said the President Dodik.
The President of Srpska stated that, when analyzed, it can be seen that it is a group of multi-ethnic character and when one starts to count, it will be seen that it is a matter of quality structures in every respect.
The President of the Republic said that it is good since the “Open Balkan” is being discussed in Jahorina, at the forum, because that is not possible in Sarajevo.
During his address, the President Dodik said that some things can be changed in terms of support to young people, for whose departure from the country the government was constantly blamed for.
The President of Srpska noted that it is an excellent idea to return the VAT for a certain number of square meters when purchasing real estate for the first time.
“Give me a proposal, I will propose it. If it cannot be carried out in BiH, it can be carried out in the Republic of Srpska”, said the President of the Republic and added that he would make it possible for everyone who returns to this area to do the same.
The President Dodik emphasized that all support from the West is less than what goes to the West from these areas through expenses for the education of young people and the labor force.
“This protectorate in which we live is set up so that young people go to the West. It has been shown that it is easy to integrate people who go from here to there”, said the President of Srpska and added that millions are allocated for people’s education.
“It is high time for us to start doing what is in our favor and to get rid of the stereotype that milk and honey flow there”, said the President of the Republic.
The President Dodik said that there is an obvious problem of lack of labor in BiH, especially in the construction industry, and that it takes two to five months to get a work permit, while the “Open Balkan” initiative allows you to come today and start working tomorrow.
The President of Srpska pointed out that the key issue in BiH is the non-implementation of the policy and that it must be freed from the constant restraints regarding the approval of permits for business activities.
According to the President of the Republic, one of the key issues is the freedom of movement of the workforce, and the constant delays in BiH and the delay in joining the “Open Balkan” initiative are increasingly causing delays for other processes.
The President of Srpska pointed out, at the first panel of the Jahorina Economic Forum named “Berlin Process and/or ‘Open Balkan’”, that China managed to become one of the global economic and political leaders and a serious power center from a poor country, while the USA, Great Britain, Germany and the EU are increasingly in trouble and facing a crisis day by day.
“"Europe has no leader anymore”, said the President of the Republic.
The President Dodik pointed out that the Serbs will not accept to suffer any international pressure and that together with their legally elected political representatives, they will create their own path to the future, according to the interests and needs of the Serb people.
The President of Srpska pointed out that he supports the domestic economic sector and appeals for the protection of domestic production, stressing that in these areas there is neither reason nor resources for any serious conflict, especially war, but that we should devote ourselves to the future, youth, cooperation and development.
The President of the Republic of Srpska believes that the regional initiative “Open Balkan” is a very possible and realistic idea, which should be jointly implemented.
