BOSNIAN EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCY OPENED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 19,2008) – The Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber organized yesterday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo the ceremonial opening of the Bosnian Export Promotion Agency (BHEPA).

BHEPA is founded within the project of the EU EUEXPRO which goal is to build capacities for export promotion. EU secured more than 840.000 Euros for the setup of this agency.

Opening of the agency was attended by the Head of the European Commission in Bosnia Dimitris Kourkoulas, the Bosnian Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Slobodan Puhalac and the Bosnian Chamber head Milan Lovric.

Kourkoulas stated that this is one of many projects of the EU for improvement of the Bosnian economy.

Export Promotion Agency shall act within Foreign Trade Chamber and former Sector for international economic relations was merged into it.

Main task of BHEPA is to help Bosnian companies to expand the existing export markets and to find new ones, primarily through gathering key information on demand of foreign markets for certain products and services and through promotion activities of Bosnian products and economic potentials abroad.

Slobodan Puhalac stated that the negative foreign trade balance sheet of Bosnia is not so drastic in the fact that a large part of Bosnian import goes on transport facilities and equipment which creates preconditions for export oriented production.

He also added that Bosnia has small number of products which could be exported to European market and those are mostly wood industry products and automobile parts.

BHEPA shall also develop support programs for analysis of their export competences as a precondition for successful survival on foreign markets.

Head of the Bosnian Export Promotion Agency is Enes Aliskovic.
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