Bosnian and Swedish enterprise at Rosenbad
A Business Forum was held on 5 November with Bosnian and Swedish business sector representatives. The Business Forum was jointly hosted by the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Board of Trade and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA).
"The idea is ultimately to increase trade between Bosnia and Sweden," says Michaela Wilhelmsson at the MFA European Union Department.
"The Business Forum is important for promoting trade between the two countries", says MFA official Ms Michaela Wilhelmsson. Photographer: Boris Vasic/MFA
A large gathering of Bosnian and Swedish entrepreneurs met at the Rosenbad Conference Centre. Some 140 people had registered for the event. Speakers included Darko Zelenika, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ambassador to Sweden, Slavica Korica from the Bosnian Investment Council and Ministry for Foreign Affairs official Andreas Hatzigeorgiou, who spoke about the Kosmopolit project.
"The Business Forum is important both for strengthening cooperation between Sweden and Bosnia and promoting trade between the two countries," says MFA official Ms Wilhelmsson.
"It is also important for creating more jobs in Sweden and making use of the Bosnians who are in Sweden."
According to Mr Hatzigeorgiou, the Bosnian community in Sweden is large; around 55 700 Bosnians in total are resident here. They have unique knowledge of their home country's culture, markets and trends and it is therefore easier for them to conduct trade with their home country. The Kosmopolit project is precisely about that: encouraging Swedes born abroad to conduct trade with their home countries. This project is doing this by creating networks.
"The aim of the Business Forum is for both sides to contact each other and for trade to increase between the two countries," says Ms Wilhelmsson. At the same time, information is given to both Swedish and Bosnian entrepreneurs about how to invest in each other's countries.
