MINIĆ: QUARTERLY MEETINGS FOCUSED ON TARGETED MEASURES IN PERIOD AHEAD

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 24 /SRNA/ – The Government of Republika Srpska and the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska will hold regular quarterly meetings in the future, with short-term and long-term measures to be prepared in advance and their objectives clearly defined, Prime Minister Savo Minić has stated today.

"We will articulate all our activities not only with the Chamber of Commerce, but also with other economic stakeholders. These meetings must be prepared more seriously so that concrete measures to improve economic conditions can be adopted," Minić told reporters in Banja Luka after the meeting between representatives of the Government of Republika Srpska and the Chamber's leadership. The Prime Minister said the task has been set to assess specific measures in order to enable operational action on the ground. "Specifically, in the processing industry we have several sectors recording increased production, but eight or nine sectors where there is a downward trend and where urgent action is required," Minić noted. He assessed that the measures proposed by the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska are realistic and come "from the field," but that they must be jointly articulated with the Government to develop concrete measures and a more dynamic action plan. "I also heard certain remarks related to activities within ministries, while we from the Government asked for a more concise approach in terms of concrete measures. Until now, we have been realistic partners; from now on, we must be substantive partners," Minić added. He mentioned that the Government of Republika Srpska has already reacted on issues the Chamber considers important, such as meat imports. "I also contacted Staša Košarac, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers, regarding meat imports into BiH, specifically meat imported from the Federation of BiH declared for processing. The question is whether it is actually used for that purpose or ends up in direct retail sales in butcher shops, which disrupts the market," Minić stated. The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska Goran Račić said that the economy of Republika Srpska has faced a complex situation over the past three years, marked by uncertainty related to developments in Western markets, given that the economy of Republika Srpska is largely tied to the EU market. "As a result, we are facing problems reflected in a decline in industrial production," Račić stressed. He added that it was proposed today that, as during the COVID-19 pandemic, a regulation be adopted that would provide assistance to all workers in Republika Srpska over the coming year. "This would help businesses operate under difficult conditions when they are threatened by workforce departures and economic migration, in order to retain workers and preserve jobs," Račić explained. He also reminded of a recently held conference on strengthening domestic production through import substitution, where it was noted that Republika Srpska is importing products for which it has the resources to produce domestically. A strategic group of products will therefore be defined, and measures to boost their production increased. "Inflation in Republika Srpska is between three and four percent, which can be considered under control, while one of the main drivers of inflation is food, where inflation stands at eight percent. If food imports were reduced by around BAM 50 million, the GDP of Republika Srpska would increase by 0.4 percent," Račić said. The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Economy and Entrepreneurship Vojin Mitrović, the Minister for Trade and Tourism Denis Šulić, and the Minister for Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska Petar Đokić.