Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Savo Minić spoke today in Banja Luka with the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to BiH, Sara Ethi Castellani.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Minić stated that that there was significant space for further improvement of economic relations with the Republic of Italy, which represents one of the most important foreign trade partners and investors in Republic of Srpska.

Prime Minister Minić emphasized that in the past three years, 20 new Italian-owned companies have been registered in the Republic of Srpska, many of which were "greenfield" investments of great importance for development of local economy and added that he saw significant space for further upgrading of cooperation especially in the field of agriculture.

Ambassador Castellani emphasized that Italy had a long tradition of economic and cultural cooperation with Republic of Srpska, and that its focus was on economic diplomacy and further improvement of business relations.

Prime Minister Minić informed Ambassador Castellani that Republic of Srpska was committed to the European integration process and to fulfilling of its obligations, but also underlined that further progress requires a greater degree of mutual respect and compliance with the Dayton arrangement of BiH.