Assessing Bosnia and Herzegovina's Reform Agenda for Private Sector Development

Foreword

The Assessing Bosnia and Herzegovina's Reform Agenda for Private Sector Development report has been prepared within the framework of the EU for Private Sector Development (EU4PSD) initiative (2025-27), which aims to promote competitive and sustainable growth by empowering the private sector and enhancing the overall business environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This report represents the first OECD deliverable under the EU4PSD initiative. It provides an initial assessment of the implementation of reforms related to private sector development, laying the groundwork for future monitoring of the country’s draft Reform Agenda, once and if it is adopted. The report offers concrete, practical recommendations, leveraging OECD good practices and standards, to inform the design of the Reform Agenda and future economic policy planning and to accelerate reform implementation. Additionally, it is designed to serve as a basis for identifying key policy bottlenecks and for tailoring OECD support throughout the remainder of the Initiative.

The report is the result of work co-ordinated by the South East Europe Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC), with financial support from the European Commission. The report was prepared under the guidance of Marzena Kisielewska, Head of the OECD South East Europe Division, and Umur Gökçe, Economic Advisor.

The principal author of this report was Stephanie Lizzo (OECD South East Europe Division). The report’s co-authors include: Umur Gökçe (Simplifying and harmonising requirements for business operations, Providing financial support for businesses and innovative start-ups); Korin Kane (Strengthening governance, management and transparency of SOEs); and Valts Kalnins (Fostering transparency and accountability in business practices).

We extend our sincere appreciation to government officials and other stakeholders who actively participated in the data collection and review processes. Their engagement and commitment have made the development of this report possible. We would like especially to acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals who have assumed a strong co-ordinating role:

 

Level of government	Co-ordinator	Institution
State-level	Brankica Pandurević	Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Una Morankić	Directorate for the European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Izudina Smajkić	Ministry of Development of Entrepreneurship and Craftsmanship of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Sanela Čičić	Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republika Srpska	Aleksandra Klipa	Ministry of European Integration and International Co-operation of Republika Srpska
Brčko District	Amra Abadžić	Department for Economic Development, Sports and Culture
	Branislav Maric	Department for European Integration and International Co-operation

The report benefited from the input and review of Grégory Lecomte, Céleste Laporte Talamon, Egor Polishchuk, Daniel Poloyko and Mariam Chkhikvadze (OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate, Eurasia). Additional thanks go to: Sara Sultan and Martin Kohtze (OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs); Giuseppa Ottimofiore (OECD Directorate for Public Governance); Hana Aljevic, Dafina Marashi and Benoit Dicharry (OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate, South East Europe); Andrew Le Brun (MONEYVAL); Jasmin Gabela and Erna Kurtović (Enova Consultants and Engineers); Ognjenka Lalović, Enes Ališković and Mirza Konjo (Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina); Amina Mulabdić (BiH Directorate for Economic Planning); Efka Heder and Amir Sarajlić (GOPA Worldwide Consultants); and Fedja Krivošić, all of whom provided valuable feedback throughout the drafting process.

We would also like to thank our project partners for their support and engagement throughout the preparation of this publication, particularly through their review and feedback. In this regard, we extend our thanks to Vesna Grković, Aida Soko and Chiara Bocci from the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to our colleagues from GIZ working on the Sustainable Economic Development and Employment Promotion (SEDEP) project for their detailed review of the report and inputs.

The report was prepared for publication by Meral Gedik. The following people also contributed to the success of the project: Linda Rubene, Valeria Pelosi, Vukan Jokić and James McCaul.

This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.