Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić together with the Minister of Economy of Turkey Nihat Zeybekci and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Šarović, signed the Mid-term Cooperation Programme of the Trilateral Trade Committee of Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2016-2018, envisaging an improvement in the economic cooperation of the three countries, today in Belgrade.

Upon signing the Agreement and the Action Plan it was stated that, during the coming month, a joint regional office for economy and trade of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be opened in Istanbul, wherein the two countries would present their trade, economic and tourist potential.

Tomorrow’s business forum for representatives of the business communities of the three countries in Sarajevo was also announced, as well as the business-investment forum in Istanbul and a meeting dedicated to tourism in the three countries in Belgrade, to be held during the first half of 2016.

Minister Ljajić said that Serbia is interested in attracting investors, but also the greatest possible number of tourists from Turkey.

“Signing this programme, which we have been working on since August of this year in Ankara, is a great step forward and its goal is to improve the economic cooperation of our countries. We expect an increase in the trade of goods and far more Turkish investments than now”, said Ljajić.

He added that the programme also envisages for Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to be able to use all 160 Turkish economic regional offices worldwide to acquire necessary information and a better opportunity for our products to be placed on the markets of those countries.

Emphasizing that for Serbia the markets of Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina are extremely important, the Minister said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is the third export market for our products and the fourth foreign-trade partner of Serbia, with over 1.4 billion euros in trade of goods.

Ljajić said that this year Serbia will achieve a record foreign-trade exchange of over a billion euros with Turkey adding that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey are the first two countries regarding the number of tourists coming to Serbia.
The Turkish Minister noted that the country supports and stimulates all Turkish investors in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that he hopes that after signing the plan their number will increase further.

He said that he believes the import and export among the three countries will be far more liberal.

“This is a great opportunity for the economy and the liberalization of economy in 2016, and this cooperation will mean a lot to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey”, said Ljajić.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Šarović, said that one of the key issues for the cooperation of the three countries is transport infrastructure, and it should represent a priority.