Minister Mitrović at the University of Trieste and the business forum in Udine

As part of an official visit to Italy, the Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Srpska Vojin Mitrović and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković visited the University of Trieste, where they talked with the Deputy Rector Valter Serga and the professors of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of this University about the possibilities of establishing cooperation in the field of education.

During the visit, Minister Mitrović and Prime Minister Radovan Višković also participated in the business forum in Udine, organised by the Italian Konfidustria Business Association.

At the business forum, Minister Mitrović spoke about the economic environment and pointed out that the Republic of Srpska is ranked in top 10 countries and regions, out of 350, as a good destination for investing.

“Procedures are now reduced from 21 days to three days and we are working together with you to start a business in Srpska as easily and quickly as possible. The government is working with local communities to offer and simplify procedures, as well as together with the education system to educate and specialise the workforce. Government’s commitment is to create as favourable an environment as possible in the coming period,” said Mitrović.

Mitrović also stated that they are working on digitisation and creating incentives for investors.

“Every businessman is important to us, and we pay special attention to those who invest more than BAM 5 million and employ more than 100 workers. There is also a refund of taxes and contributions, and Srpska helps up to 30 percent of the investment,” Mitrović emphasized.

Slobodanka Dubravac, Assistant Minister from the Department for Economic Cooperation, also participated in the business forum.

Slobodanka Dubravac said that there is a highway from Trieste to Banja Luka, and the Republic of Srpska is building new kilometers of highway roads, making it competitive and offering market access to CEFTA countries, EFTA and Turkey, which is of special importance to export-oriented investors.

She also added that ‘Italy is the second largest foreign investor and foreign trade partner of Srpska’, emphasizing that in the Republic of Srpska the non-taxable part of income is 511 euros, there is no dividend tax, and the tax base is reduced for investors who invest in technology, as well as the fact that in the past 10 years there was no increase in business costs, but work was done instead to reduce income rates and parafiscal burdens.