Bosnia, still recovering from the 1992-95 war, hosted a conference Tuesday in a bid to attract Islamic investors for projects estimated to total about EUR11 billion.
Bosnia, still recovering from the 1992-95 war, hosted a conference Tuesday in a bid to attract Islamic investors for projects estimated to total about EUR11 billion.

Bosnia is highlighting its possible role as a link between Europe and Islamic states.

"[ Bosnia ] could serve as a bridge between two worlds," the chairman of the country's tripartite presidency Haris Silajdzic said at the opening of the gathering.

"Our two strategic goals are to join the European Union and NATO," he said hinting that Bosnia 's aspirations to join the two blocs guarantee a stable future for the country ravaged by the 1992-95 war.

"We certainly sometimes do have problems, political differences and we are sometimes noisy about it. But Bosnia-Herzegovina is a stable country and open for investments," Silajdzic said.

The inter-ethnic war between Bosnia 's Croats, Muslims and Serbs claimed about 100,000 lives, while 15 years since it ended ethnic tensions in the Balkan country still remain high.

The two-day conference gathering Islamic investors and organized under auspices of the Islamic Development Bank is attended by 600 participants as well as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During the conference more that 150 projects that require foreign investments, worth EUR11 billion, will be presented. The projects cover the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture and infrastructure.

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