Opening the Forum, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to BiH Andrea Rauber Saxer said that “the support of the Swiss Government to the i-platform project is based on the vision that the representatives of the Diaspora are natural bridge builders”. She also added that “the Government of Switzerland believes the i-platform has the potential to significantly contribute to the progress and prosperity of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Kemo Sarač, representative of the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH, which seeks to include representatives of the Diaspora from Switzerland in the development of the Cooperation Policy, said: “The relationship between the state and the Diaspora should be transparent and built on trust, respect and reciprocity”. He stressed that “the Diaspora is an obligation as well as potential”.

The panel about success stories included participation by successful businesspersons already operating in BiH in the fields of wood processing, eco-tourism and healthy food production, representatives of FIPA, and municipalities of Cazin, Posušje and Laktaši in charge of Diaspora-related affairs. Together they analysed the potential and advantages of BiH as a place of investment, as well as drawbacks that hinder investment and successful business operations. Among other things, it was concluded that, despite the high unemployment rate in BiH, the problems often include the lack of well-educated and properly trained workforce, inadequate legislation, administrative barriers, and lack of trust. It was also concluded that the potential is huge, and that in recent years the situation in this field has improved, in particular by involving local communities in the work with the Diaspora. However, a lot has yet to be done to ensure effective involvement of the Diaspora in the sustainable development of BiH and, given the success stories at the local level, more work and investment is needed to improve communication and engage with the Diaspora on a proactive basis in the development of relevant policies.