Delegation of the Chamber of the Commerce of Carinthia and the Slovenian Economic Association of Carinthia visited Sarajevo

In  mid-October, the Chamber of Commerce of Carinthia organized a visit to Sarajevo for its business delegation, as well as for the Delegation of the Slovenian Economic Association. Fifteen companies visited Sarajevo, and the most prominent were the companies "Urbas Stahl - und Anlagenbau", "The Making Druckerei", "Kruschitz Plastics & Recycling", "Bären Battery", "Mandl Bäckereimaschinen", "GmbH" and HFS.
The delegation was received by Mr. Sigmund Nemeti, trade counselor of the Austrian Embassy.  He explained the Bosnian economic and political everyday life. The delegation visited Mr. Valentin Inzko, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mr. Martin Pammer, the Austrian Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second day of the visit, there were over 70 business meetings. The companies from Carinthia made contacts with Austrian companies based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the last day of the visit, there were two political - economic meetings at the highest level. The delegation was received by Mr. Fadil Novalić, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Elmedin Konaković, Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton. The visit for the Delegation was very successful. They will visit Belgrade in spring 2016. too.
"This economic visit to Sarajevo, to me personally, is not just successful because it opens the door to an interesting market with multiple opportunities for the joint operations of the economy of Carinthia. The visit was a confirmation of many personal contacts with Sarajevo. I often visited the city during the war and I also visited my good business friends there after the war – in a difficult time. So, I was even happier when I met Mr. Muharem Šabić, Minister of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton in Klagenfurt. We discussed possible joint projects with the companies of Carinthia, "said Me. Jürgen Mandl, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Carinthia, 
Mr. Benjamin Wakounig, the President of the Slovenian Economic Association, made a comment on this visit too: "The vision of the Slovenian Economic Association of Carinthia always focuses, not only on the domestic, but also on the neighbor commercial markets. These economic markets include not only Slovenia and Northern Italy, but also prosperous Western Balkans, which will play an important role in the economic development of Europe in the near future. The future markets are related to the fields of energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and the exchange of goods and services which deal with small and medium enterprises. The Western Balkan countries, which are not yet members of the EU, will unceasingly rely on the European Union in their economic and political strategies.
We from the Slovenian Economic Association of Carinthia look forward to a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce of Carinthia, because it is a partner with the vision necessary for the realization of these economic - political objectives. Countries such as Turkey, Arab countries, and China consider the Western Balkan countries as the target markets and although they are thousands of miles away from these countries, they try to find a way to be present on this market.
Therefore, we can conclude that we could miss a historic opportunity if we do not pay attention to the markets which are very near to us, while the others use the same opportunity although they are located far away from us. The Slovenian Economic Association of Carinthia has decided to closely cooperate with the Chamber of Commerce of Carinthia. In 2016, we are planning to organize a joint visit to the region.”