Kingdom, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia to reach new heights in economic relations

Mohammed Rasooldeen
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar receives Serbian Deputy Premier Rasim Ljajic, Deputy Premier of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Markovic, and the delegations accompanying them, in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)

RIYADH: A joint economic delegation from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia — their first visit to the Kingdom — on Monday pledged to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to promote bilateral relations at a meeting held at the headquarters of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC).
The delegation also included officials from the ministries of commerce and tourism, the chairman of Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and businessmen.
King Salman on Monday received the joint delegation comprising Rasim Ljajic, Serbian deputy premier and minister of trade and tourism and communications, and Mirko Markovic, deputy premier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, minister of foreign trade and economic relations and chairman of the Bosnian economic delegation.
Delegates reviewed existing relations between the Kingdom and Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the prospects of enhancing them, particularly in trade and economic fields.
In its two-day visit, the delegation will hold meetings with Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, as well as with the minister of environment, water and agriculture, the minister of trade and investment and the minister of housing.
The visit is the result of Prince Sultan’s keenness to initiate ties with Bosnia. It followed an official visit the prince conducted to Serbia in November 2015 at the invitation of Ljajic.
During the meeting at the CSC headquarters, the visiting delegation was welcomed by its secretary-general, Saud Al-Mishari, while board member Abdullah Al-Mobty outlined the opportunities available in the Kingdom for foreign investors.
Al-Mobty said it is time that foreign investors make use of the opportunities available for viable businesses. He said the Kingdom is eager to attract high-quality investments from friendly countries to reach its goals in Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020. He pointed out that the bilateral trade between the Kingdom and Bosnia-Herzegovina was $25 million in 2015, while the Kingdom’s two-way trade with Serbia stood at $31 million.
At the end of the session, the Council of Saudi Chambers and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two sides in various fields to strengthen economic cooperation between the Kingdom and Serbia.