(MANAMA, April 9—Reuters) A senior Bosnian envoy on Tuesday asked Gulf Arab states to set up investment projects in Bosnia, saying that after more than three years of war the country faced a fight to rebuild its economy. "Now we move on to the next stage, the next war, because it is a struggle... We will suffer now much more.. and that is the rebuilding our economy,'' said Muhamed Sacirbey, special adviser to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.
Sacirbey, who is also the Bosnian ambassador to the United Nations, was speaking at the Gulf Economic Forum in Bahrain attended by ministers, senior banking officials and business people from the six Gulf Arab states and other Arab countries.
Key Donor Meeting Next Week
A donor meeting in Brussels on April 12-13 will try to raise pledges for funds to rebuild the country, but the $5.1 billion identified for Bosnia reconstruction over the next few years was "only a fraction of our needs," Sacirbey said.He said it has been estimated that Bosnia suffered between $80 billion to $100 billion of damages during the 3½-year war in the former republic of Yugoslavia.
"I am clearly not here to ask you to go to Brussels and make a donation. I am here to emphasise the rebuilding of Bosnia-Herzegovina needs to occur primarily through private investment," Sacirbey said. Nearly four months after the Bosnian peace agreement was signed, almost no reconstruction in Bosnia has begun and emergency repairs are haphazard.
Conference Seen as Test
The donors conference, organized jointly by the European Union and the World Bank, will bring together experts and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industralized countries, the European Union, the Islamic world and Asia. The Brussels conference is seen as a big test of the international community's committment to funding reconstruction projects. It aims to raise $1.2 billion to meet the target of $1.8 billion needed for the first year of Bosnia's reconstruction needs. This will add to the $600 million obtained last year. Over three years the hope is that Bosnia will get the $5.1 billion for reconstruction.When asked by Reuterss after his speech whether there had been any pledges of Gulf investment to start up projects, he said: "I am not here to get pledges.There is a lot of indication of interest. We're actually talking with various financial institutions as well as institutions outside of the region."
He listed incentives to try to lure investment, saying that there was high growth potential, skilled labor, natural resources such as hydroelectric capability, forests for wood, tourism, efficient farming and proximity to markets.
He said there was no large developed financial institutions but "that is an opportunity for a number of institutions at this conference." He said incentives also included currency stability, because of its link to the German mark and regulation by the World Bank and IMF. He said financial assistance and favourable rate loans were forthcoming but they needed the "partner of equity investments."
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