Ailyn Agonia
Doha
MORE and more products from Bosnia and Herzegovina are making their way into Qatar’s supermarkets.
Among those currently visible on the shelves of some of the local markets are laundry and toiletry products by renowned Bosnia and Herzegovina manufacturer ‘Violeta’ and Bosnian kitchen salt.
In an interview with Qatar Tribune recently, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Qatar HE Tarik Sadovic said he attributes the presence of products from his country in Qatar markets to the diplomatic efforts and the businessmen from both countries.
Similarly, the Ambassador announced that soon, perhaps even before the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan, products from the famous Bosnia and Herzegovina food industry of ‘Klas’ will appear in the markets. Their products include flour, chocolate, waffles, strudels, biscuits, cookies, popular sweets ‘rahat lokum’ and many others. He added the probability of seeing Bosnian coffee and tea on the shelves of local markets as well.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar are two countries that are about 3,600 kilometres away from each other. Up until Qatar Airways opened the Sarajevo-Doha direct air-link, trade between the two countries could practically only take place by the sea. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a small sea coast of about 25 kilometres along the Adriatic Sea and has no harbour, but instead relies on the harbours of the neighbouring countries of Croatia and Montenegro. Until recently, there was almost no product from our country in Qatar. Thanks to the diplomatic efforts and the businessmen from both countries, this situation has begun to change,” Ambassador Sadovic said.
The Ambassador also said that a ‘refrigerator’ being built at the Sarajevo airport will allow for proper storage of certain products that could be exported to Qatar using the cargo capacities of Qatar Airways and other companies. This, he added, will make it possible to import fruits and other products from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We are hoping for a successful business story. Bosnia and Herzegovina has excellent natural waters. Businessmen from both countries have already discussed Bosnia and Herzegovina products from our meat processing industry, dairy products and cheese. For example, we expect that Bosnia and Herzegovina will export about 7,000 tons of meat to Turkey this year. It would be good if we started exporting meat to Qatar as well.”
“During the recent visit to Qatar by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr Denis Zvizdif1’e6, meetings were held between Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina businessmen in the fields of medicine production and medical materials, woodworking industry and furniture, and automotive industry. Many Qatari tourists and residents, who, during their stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina try our food products, are very pleasantly surprised. Many of them, after returning to Qatar, have sought to buy them. We need to enable them,f0″ said Ambassador Sadovic.
The Ambassador also underscored that as part of promoting their products in Qatar, he had been encouraging their local businessmen to visit here and take part in events, fairs and exhibitions to network with their Qatari counterparts. He underlined the need to raise awareness about their products among local consumers.
He further said that because of his constant invitation to Bosnia and Herzegovina businessmen to personally promote their products, he had been expecting the Qatari authorities to help in liberalising the visa regime for their citizens.
Ambassador Sadovic also underlined the long tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the military industry. He said,”We export our products to about 50 countries, to the markets of the most developed countries including the Middle East countries. We hope that the announced visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina by Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs, HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al Attiyah, will open the ‘Qatari Gate’ for the products from our military industry.”
from www.qatar-tribune.com