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SARAJEVO, August 15 (FENA) - Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH Mirko Šarović, in an interview with FENA, said that the ministry has been working for a few years on the development of energy strategy and that he expects it to be adopted at the next session of the BiH Council of Ministers.
Interviewer: Aida Kovač
"It seems to me that we have overcome all obstacles, we have the opinions of the entities, we have agreed on the details and I believe that by the end of August we will have a strategy that is very important," said Šarović, adding that we are still the only country without the energy strategy.
In addition, this opens the door to various EU funds for the countries of the Western Balkans.
“We have seen it with the case of the Rural Development Strategy that we have already entered IPA and can withdraw 30 million euros each year, 90 million in three-year period. This is the same when it comes to energy. We would be able to unblock some projects we have not been able to implement so far, "said Minister Šarović, adding that he believes that this creates great prospects for the energy sector in BiH.
Asked how much BiH loses due to the fact that the energy strategy has not been adopted, Šarović says that the estimates vary.
“Given that have been talking about this strategy since 2008, in the past 10 years, that we have not had access to IPA all these years, that no energy project has been implemented in this Western Balkans platform, the assessment is likely to be about 200 million euros for these projects alone. The other damages that the country has suffered are probably even greater,” said Šarović.
Speaking about Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), he noted that only one step has remained for our country and that is bilateral negotiations with the Russian Federation, "as we have concluded bilateral talks with Ukraine, Brazil, the United States in 2013, but they have only been recently formalized and signed in Geneva".
“We are very close to reaching an agreement with Russia. I think this will happen soon if we adopt a decision on the quality of liquid petroleum fuels. Given that Russia is an energy country, it is interested in what standards we plan to will apply in BiH when it comes to liquid petroleum,” said Minister Šarović.
Commenting on the EU decision to place BiH on the list of A and B countries that are allowed exports of all types of milk and dairy products to the EU, Minister Šarović said that if we look back to three or four years, we were far behind the standards and the level of adjustment of the system for BiH to be able to export milk and dairy products to the EU.
"It was something that we could have just wished for three or four years ago, a dream. Now our country has a license to export all kinds of milk and dairy products, even raw milk for which we thought it would take several years to achieve,” said Minister Šarović.
He reminded that there are 10 such companies in BiH, and there will probably be more.
“Their status and credibility have grown. We also expect financial effects as all of our companies have a different range of products,” said Šarović.
Minister Šarović also commented on the decision of the Russian Federation to lift the ban on imports of apples from BiH.
"I believe it is very important that we work together at all levels, with producers, growers and exporters, and create a climate that will only help them. It is essential that exports to Russia serve only fruit growers and those engaged in this sector, not individuals who abuse the system, and sell the goods of third party producers. No one has benefits from such behavior, not the producers nor the people employed in this sector,” said Šarović.
He pointed out that there are so many quality fruit producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina that have remarkable products and can sell them in Russia, and that it is a pity that we had a ban that lasted for five or six months.
"We've tightened the criteria to meet the requirements of the Russian Federation, and now the system works normally. We are already recording tens of tons of our products being exported to Russia daily, and the peak of the season is yet to come,” said the minister.
Minister Šarović also spoke about the importance of the Free Trade Agreement with Turkey.
“This agreement that we have negotiated for two years with a specially formed team, is better than the previous one, it gives greater chances, freedom and opportunities for Turkey and BiH. For us, it is important that for the first time, the agreement lays down provisions on the permission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to export certain quantities of meat to the Turkish market. Now we have guaranteed custom free quotas for the Turkish market. That is, in my opinion, a success primarily of the negotiating team and the Ministry,” said Šarović in his interview with FENA.
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(FENA) S. R.
