Speeches

Just five years ago there was no system to speak of that supported SMEs in BiH. The whole orientation of economic policy, such as it was at that time, was based on a hopeless attempt to resurrect the old industrial conglomerates that were the centerpiece of the socialist economy of former Yugoslavia. It was as if economic planners in Pittsburg or [...]

It’s a pleasure to be here. Today I’d like to talk about the BiH business environment. I know it’s a subject we all care deeply about. It is my full-time concern.
I would like to start on an upbeat note. Things are getting better here and the business environment has improved. – not just in small or peripheral ways, but in significant wa [...]

This seminar is taking place as Bosnia and Herzegovina enters a critical point in its effort to meet the conditions set forth for membership of Partnership for Peace. The coming weeks and months will determine whether or not BiH is able to meet those conditions and take the first step toward membership in the Euro-Atlantic community.

Gathered at this conference is an impressive body of specialist expertise in the oil and oil derivatives market. I will confine my remarks to a general overview of the market, and the issue of corruption.

Corruption is endemic in the BiH oil market, and steps must be taken to eliminate it. This market is potentially a source of signi [...]

I am pleased to be able, once again, to brief the Security Council on developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am particularly pleased to be doing so alongside the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic. I think that innovation exemplifies the stage BiH has now reached, in which the International Community’s presence there needs to wor [...]

It is a pleasure to be back in Mostar and in Herzegovina … again!
As my BiH colleagues know, Mostar has taken up much of my time over the last few months as we have, together, embarked on the long and difficult process of re-unifying this Great City – a process that, exactly one month ago, led to the enactment of a new City Statute.
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I have come here this morning directly from a meeting with the Federation and State prime ministers and the leaders of the two parliaments. Tomorrow I will repeat the meeting with the Prime Minister and leadership of the RSNA in Banja Luka . The message that we in the International Community are trying to get across I believe is an important one [...]

The concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution may be new to Bosnia and Herzegovina but it has been used in many countries very successfully for years. It is a tool to circumvent the long waiting time required for the resolution of commercial court disputes, something this country urgently needs if it is to attract investment and promote economic gr [...]

Restructuring a country’s power sector – as I need hardly point out to most people in this room – is like renewing the foundations of a building, without disturbing the building’s stability or disrupting the activities in the building. It’s a mammoth task and it has to be undertaken with continuous reference to shifting political and economic reali [...]

Is there anyone here who doesn’t know this country better than international advisors? Do you really feel you need advice on how to improve services to your citizens? And do you need the International Community to decide all the key questions dealing with services to citizens? If, as I expect, the answer is no, then it is time for you to begin to [...]