The Mostar International Fair of Economy 2023 opens its doors to visitors on Tuesday, May 2, and the organizers expect exhibitors from 30 countries, among which will be some of the strongest companies from Israel, this year’s partner country.
Advisor at the Embassy of the State of Israel in BiH, Ernest Grin, said they are proud to bear the title of official partner country of the Mostar Fair.
– Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1997, foreign trade between Israel and BiH has been steadily increasing. Exports from BiH to Israel increased from one million US dollars during the 1990s to over 20 million US dollars in 2021. Israel’s exports to BiH, which practically did not exist in the 1990s, amounted to about seven and a half million US dollars in 2021 – Grin said at a press conference.
According to him, this is only a fraction of the great potential for economic, technological and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
– This great potential, represented and promoted by the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Israel in BiH, is what underlies the strong commitment of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its efforts to support and take an active role in this year’s edition of the Mostar Fair – Grin said.
Some of the strongest Israeli companies will be presented at the Fair.
– Some of the most innovative and modern companies and industries are coming, including the highly positioned company “Israel Aerospace Industries”, which is an experienced and global leader in defense, aviation, cyber and other sectors, as well as the company “BTM” specialized in cyber security and biomedicine and “ELTA Systems” a company specialized in advanced technologies and electronics – said the representative of the Israeli embassy, adding that he is sure “that the Mostar Fair will mark the beginning of a new era of economic cooperation between the two countries and that positive results will soon be visible.”
The President of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, Marko Šantić, also expressed satisfaction that Israel is the partner country and that he believes that after the fair relations between Israel and BiH will be even better.
– I can only state that trade between our two countries is not at a satisfactory level and that we can do much better. I hope that after this fair we will have a platform and predispositions to make quality cooperation. We have already been in intensive contact with the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Israel for two months and we will sign a framework cooperation agreement which we believe will be the basis and platform for further cooperation of our economy with the economy of Israel – Šantić said.
He pointed out that Bosnian businessmen have a lot to learn from their Israeli colleagues.
– What we can learn from them is business culture, the mentality of those businessmen who are primarily based on networking. That is Israel’s strength, and strength is also in creativity and innovation. That is where small countries can be competitive in the large global market, which Israel demonstrates. I hope that we will also learn some of that from their businessmen. What Mr. Grin talked about regarding cyber security, new technologies, biomedicine, IT technology, these are market niches where Israel is making great progress, has leading companies. We have the potential at our universities for personnel in those branches and we can certainly achieve very good cooperation with Israel – Šantić said.
As part of its activities at the International Fair of Economy, in cooperation with the University of Mostar, the Chamber of Economy of FBiH will organize a conference conceived through three panels on current topics, such as adapting the University of Mostar to modern labor market conditions, energy transition and the candidate status of BiH in the EU.
Also, the Chamber of Economy of FBiH will present two major projects, one in creative industries, and the other is a project in which all countries of the Adriatic-Ionian region participated, and the basis is “blue growth” and “blue economy”.
The Director of the Mostar Fair, Dalfina Bošnjak, recalled the rich history of the Fair, emphasizing that this is its 24th edition.
– We are extremely honored that Israel is the partner country, for the reason that we do not have developed mutual trade. I believe that in the future it will be much better and much more. We have 30,000 square meters of space, we can have from 750 to 800 exhibitors from around thirty countries. More than 300 media houses are accredited, this is a great success for us and every year we are on an upward trajectory – Bošnjak said.
She added that there is great interest in participating in this year’s fair.
– Last year the fair was successful, and this one is even better for us. Everyone wants to come and present their products and services, and I must say that this year is the most successful so far in terms of applications. A month ago we were filled to capacity, which has not been the case until now – she emphasized.
The organizers hope to make an additional step forward compared to previous years and emphasized that the Mostar International Fair of Economy 2023 will be a great opportunity to meet businessmen, all with the aim of investing as much as possible in the future in BiH.
