A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between KOSGEB and the Ministry of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central Bosnia Canton. In his speech at the signing ceremony held online, KOSGEB President Hasan Basri Kurt reminded that Bosnia and Herzegovina is in an extremely impressive position for both European and non-European countries and added that, “KOSGEB, with more than 30 years of experience in the SME ecosystem, is ready to share its knowledge and experience in every field in order to ensure the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina at both the Federation and the Cantonal level.”

Developing Cooperation

KOSGEB President Kurt, Vice President Salih Tuna Şahin, Head of EU and Foreign Relations Department Selim Serkan ERCAN and Central Bosnia Canton Economy Minister Nisvet Hrnjic attended the meeting, which was organized to develop cooperation between Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the commercial and economic fields.

New Deal

KOSGEB President Kurt reminded that there are 3 Memorandums of Understanding signed with the institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts and the Center for the Development of Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIGMEV) and they are currently in effect. He added that many activities were carried out to increase mutual institutional capacity between our countries within the scope of MoUs.

SMEs in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Minister Nisvet Hrnjic stated that one of the biggest problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy is unemployment and that both the effects of the global crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic have negatively impacted employment in recent years, and underscored that for this reason they attach special importance to entrepreneurship and KOSGEB's entrepreneurship programs as a model.

Our Collaboration Potential Between SMEs Goes Beyond Traditional Methods

KOSGEB President Kurt said, “As KOSGEB, we have observed that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a rapidly growing economy during our visits to your country in the past years. Our historical ties and the Bosnian population in our country increase our cooperation potential. In addition to B2Bs, we want to focus on cooperation areas where technological investments have come to the fore recently, and unicorn models based on ideas are prioritized rather than physical investments.”

Trade volume

Minister Nisvet Hrnjic emphasized that the economy of the Central Bosnia Canton, one of the 10 cantons of the Federation, is concentrated in metal processing, machinery production, chemicals, woodworking, food, textile and footwear sectors and that tourism revenues have increased recently, and they hope that the trade volume between the two countries will increase to 700 million dollars.

Action Plan Next

KOSGEB Vice President Şahin stated that they will prepare an Action Plan within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding and noted that they will include priority sectors here.

Sharing Knowledge and Experience

Our Presidency, whose mission is to increase the share of SMEs and entrepreneurs in economic and social development by enabling them to reach an innovative, technological and competitive structure, is ready to share the knowledge and experience in both structural and functional dimensions.

Trainings to be Organized

Within the scope of the Memorandum of Understanding, training programs can be organized for SMEs and entrepreneurs, as within other Memorandums of Understanding signed with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Expert exchange programs can be realized in order to share best practices regarding SME support mechanisms. Mutual business trips can be organized in order to increase the mutual trade volume of the SMEs of the two countries.

Number of Memorandums of Understanding Reached 89

To date, KOSGEB has signed a total of 88 Memorandums of Understanding with 83 organizations from 65 countries and 5 international organizations. With the memorandum signed with the Central Bosnia Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the number reached 89.