The Mayor of Bijeljina, Ljubiša Petrović, together with a delegation of entrepreneurs from Semberija, paid a working visit to Izmir – the third largest city in Türkiye.
 
The occasion for this year’s visit to Izmir was the major International Fair, which gathers a large number of companies and countries from all over the world.
 
“Türkiye is a country we can learn a great deal from, particularly in relation to tourism, trade and various industries. In addition, Türkiye has always been an important partner to the Balkan countries in many areas,” wrote Mayor Petrović on his official Facebook page.
 
During their stay in the city, Mayor Petrović and the delegation of entrepreneurs – Radiša Lukić (Radiša LLC), Jovan Rakić (Rakić Komerc) and Marko Rašević (Rašević LLC) – were received by the Mayor of Izmir, Cemil Tugay.
 
At the meeting, current issues in several areas were discussed, along with potential avenues of cooperation between the two cities.
 
“We were warmly welcomed and, in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere, we exchanged experiences, touched upon a number of topics, and also agreed on possible forms of cooperation between our cities. I am particularly pleased to point out that we agreed for Bijeljina to be presented at the 95th Izmir International Fair next year, which is of great importance to us. At the same time, we received a promise that representatives of Izmir will be our guests next year at the International Agricultural Fair, traditionally held in Bijeljina,” Petrović stated.
 
In addition, the meeting addressed the establishment of cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce of Izmir and Bijeljina, which is of particular importance to the local economy.
 
“Izmir is currently facing, like most metropolises, serious traffic congestion, while we are facing the problem of poor road infrastructure, so overcoming these challenges and exchanging experiences was also one of the topics of our conversation.
 We also agreed that continuous investment in equipping fire brigades and training staff is extremely important, as Izmir has in recent years faced a large number of wildfires,” Petrović emphasised.
 
A wide range of topics was opened, even though this was the first meeting between the two officials, which already produced concrete forms of cooperation.
 
“We shall continue to organise official visits to other countries, so that as many entrepreneurs from Bijeljina as possible may have the opportunity to establish business contacts, promote their work and products, gain new experience, and broaden their horizons. Unfortunately, we are not open enough to other markets and to attracting foreign investment. However, meetings such as this one give us hope that we can work on creating a new image and building meaningful international contacts, all with the aim of ensuring that our people remain here and prosper,” underlined the Mayor of Bijeljina.
 
On this occasion, the Mayor of Bijeljina was also presented with an honorary plaque of the City of Izmir.