As part of the second day of the 11th Sarajevo Business Forum, a business discussion was held with representatives from Malaysia. The interview was conducted by: Noor Azmi Mat Said, Director General of the NGO Human Life Advancement Foundation, Wan Muhammed Zainal Wan Yahya, Deputy Director General of the Malaysian Franchise Association, Mohd Akil Bin Mohd Yusof, Board Member of the Islamic Tourism Center Malaysia, Dženan Mujezinovic, Marketing Manager and distribution in the BIMAL group,  Eldina Muftić, agricultural and supply chain development manager at Zeraa Agricultute and Investment.

Speakers emphasized the importance of cooperation between Malaysia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in all areas, with an emphasis on education and science, establishing and connecting the tourism industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the importance of communication between the tourism sector and all participants in a sustainable and competitive market. Azra Čolić, head of the VIP Club sector of BBI Bank and Wan Muhammed Zainal Wan Yahya, deputy general director of the Malaysian Franchise Association, signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of business and mutual support.

The role of public-private partnership and knowledge transfer in the private and public sector was the topic of the third panel on the second day of the 11th Sarajevo Business Forum. The panelists included Manuela Naessl, head of the BiH office at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sven Petke, head of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation (KAS) office, Ana Lucia Lind, international banker and financial advisor and investor, Dr. Kemal Aydin, President of the Scientific Committee of the World Summit on Aging and the World Congress on Aging, HE. Olav Reinersten, Ambassador of Norway in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dadan Irawan Sarpingi, President of 4848, Group with offices in Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, Boston and Jeddah and Dado Durić, Director of Operations at APS Facade

The head of the EBRD office in BiH, Manuela Nessl, said that opportunities are seen in all industrial sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. EBRD, as the largest international financial investor in BiH and the region, helps establish public-private sectors. The greatest potential for establishing a public-private partnership can be seen in the energy and healthcare sectors, where state-owned companies continue to dominate.
Mr. Sven Petke, head of the Konrad – Adenauer – Foundation office, said that public-private partnership is an alternative to procurement in infrastructure, because it creates non-profit projects and minimizes costs when creating infrastructure.
“Private-public partnership should be an option in creating infrastructure projects and this is a good way to enable the necessary investments by municipalities and the state,” said Petke.
Mrs. Ana Lucia Lind, an international financial advisor, has seen through her experience that the government’s investment in public-private partnership is actually an investment in the future of the country.
“The same models of private-public partnership are applicable in all governments and countries in the world, and this is a model that is applicable to every element of the state’s development,” said Lucia Lind.

H.E. Olav Reinersten, Ambassador of Norway in Bosnia and Herzegovina, spoke about the idea of establishing a business association of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Norway.
“There is a lot of room for investment and trade, especially in the renewable energy industry, tourism, metal, but also other traditional industries,” emphasized Reinerster.

Dadan Irawan Sarpingi, president of 4848, Group Indonesia, said that one of the models for business survival is the business-public partnership, but that the cooperation between the government and the private sector must be established on a “win-win basis”.
“During the pandemic, the only businesses that survived in Indonesia were organized through private-public partnerships. This is a new economic model after the pandemic that is gaining strength, and it needs to be regulated through economic reforms and a “pro-business” orientation,” said Sarpingi.

President of the Scientific Committee of the World Summit on Aging and the World Congress on Aging Dr. Kemal Aydin mentioned the global health problem, which is the neglect of the elderly population all over the world. He sees the participation of public-private partnerships that will deal with this problem as a solution.

Mr. Dado Durić, director of operations at the APS Facade company, said that private-public partnership cooperation in Great Britain is at a high level.
“Both the private sector and the government follow the principles and rules, and in this way both the operational and financial side work very well for both parties,” said Durić.