washington dc

WASHINGTON - Republic of Srpska opened a representative office for trade, investment and cooperation with the United States in Washington on Friday evening, which will be headed by Obrad Kesic, the Washington-based analyst and consultant.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic and Minister of Finances Zoran Tegeltija attended the opening of the representative office. Besides many distinguished figures, the opening ceremony also brought together Serbian Ambassador in Washington Vladimir Petrovic, former Serbian president Boris Tadic who is on a private visit to the United States.

In her address, the RS prime minister said this is Republika Srpska's eighth representative office in the world.

"The objective of this representative office is to explain that Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska as its part (one of the two entities in BiH) are not just part of the political story, but also an investment destination which has much to offer to the world," Cvijanovic said.

President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik confirmed that political analyst Obrad Kesić was appointed to head the office, and that "all necessary procedures have been completed despite the problems."

"All problems have been solved - from the registration of the representative office to securing the financial funds from the RS budget. Although there has been a great deal of rejection of this idea from some American politicians, we have managed to open an office of this kind," Dodik was quoted as saying.

The RS already has similar offices in Thessaloniki, Brussels, Belgrade, Vienna, Moscow, Stuttgart, and Jerusalem.