Jeddah, April 7. 2010: The vibrant and cosmopolitan capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the picturesque country in the heart of South East Europe, has hosted in Sarajevo the Capital a major international investment conference ‘Sarajevo Business Forum 2010’ organized by the Islamic Development Bank’s Business Forum (THIIQAH) , Bosnia Bank International (BBI) and in cooperation with the Bushnak Group.
This historical event is organized under the auspices and the patronage of the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina H.E. Dr. Haris Silajdzic who delivered a Keynote Address at the First Plenary Session held in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
President Silajdzic pointed out that Bosnia can offer great potential to the investors and that it is a stable, peaceful and business friendly state, quite contrary to the distorted perceptions of Bosnia in the world.
H.E. Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali the President of the IDB Group and H.E. Dr. Tun Mahathir Mohammad, the Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, addressed the Forum . The Prime Minister of Turkey Rejep Tayyip Erdogan and the Foreign Minister of Turkey Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Saeed Al-Maktoum, the Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council as well as Secretary General of the OIC H.E. Dr. Ekmeldin Ihsanoglu and numerous other distinguished guests including IMF director in BH Mr. Milan Cuc addressed the Forum.
It is unanimous perception and views of both organizers and participants that Sarajevo Business Forum is set to position Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Investment Map of the World as a business friendly and investment friendly country and a potential regional hub for the international investors willing to expand their businesses in the region of both South East Europe and the European Union alike in due course.
The Organizers of the Event BBI and IDB and their strategic international partners made history in Sarajevo by garnering the unprecedented political and business community support from all circles of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The presence of some of the most influential names from the Investing community from the best performing capital markets in the world, those of the Gulf region, are testament that Bosnia and Herzegovina will become a major hub in this part of Europe - ready to accept foreign investment. Investors from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Turkey, Libya and many other countries participated at this conference.

The CEO of Bosnia Bank International expressed his most sincere optimism that Sarajevo Business Forum will change course of history of Bosnia. This business event, according to Mr. Amer Bukvic, will represent a watershed event guaranteeing Bosnia and Herzegovina will become the vibrant and prosperous country and the zone of economic development, cooperation, peace and dialogue of civilizations rather than place of poverty, suspicion, conflict or clash of civilization.
Mr. Bukvic called upon all investors and Bosnian political and business leaders to commit to produce the most promising outcomes. Bosnian President Dr. Silajdzic praised the efforts of BBI’s CEO Amer Bukvic and his Bank expressed his optimism that Bosnia and its business sector under the young, capable and energetic leadership such as that of Mr. Bukvic will succeed in the future.
Sarajevo Business Forum gathered more than (600) participants including international investors and bankers as well as local and regional representatives of business corporations, both from private and public sectors. More than 170 journalists from among some 60 media and press organizations, local, regional and international, covered this prestigious investment conference. 175 business projects were presented to the investors in four areas of economy: energy, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism. The total value of these projects was estimated at 11.5 billion euros, which is unprecedented event in the economic history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Highest representatives from the political and economic life of Slovenia and Croatia, the two neighboring countries also presented their views and projects at the Sarajevo Business Forum which is testimony SBF is seriously regarded as a truly regional business event and a gateway for the future investment in South East Europe. Sarajevo Business Forum received by-partisan support which was confirmed by the participation of the Former Prime Minister of BH Dr. Zlatko Lagumdzija, the leader of the Oppositional Social Democratic Party of BH. Dr. Lagumdzija gave his full support to the SBF which indicates a strong commitment of both sides of Bosnian political establishment to the future developmental course of Bosnia and Herzegovina.