Results of Program of Bilateral Assistance between the CBBH and Swiss Government Presented

Today, on 25 October, 2016, presentation of the results of Program of Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building of the Central Banks was held in the premises of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH).  The Program was supported by the Swiss Government and implemented by the Institute for International Studies (Graduate Institute of International Studies - GIIS) from Geneva.

The aim of the Program is to provide for the CBBH the technical expertise and international best practices in the following areas: monetary policy, process of upgrading of the foreign exchange reserve management, of statistics and human resources management through training in econometrics, development of financial models, improving the quality of statistical data analysis and improvement of analytical and research capacities. The results anticipated by the Agreement on Bilateral Assistance Program and Capacity Building of the Central Banks are visible, and the Central Bank has shown the interest in the extension of the Agreement and the continuation of the Program by the end of 2017. The particularly important is the strengthening of the analytical and research capacities in terms of acquiring technical expertise through econometric knowledge in the workshops and seminars realized under the Program. In doing so, the impact of internal and external shocks on BH economy, and the next stage of development of projections is in accordance with the best practices applicable in central banks.

 "Switzerland has an excellent cooperation with the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past years. We are very pleased with the interest and commitment of employees in the Central Bank to expand their knowledge in several areas, and exchange experiences with other central banks, including the Swiss National Bank. Our cooperation is not limited to this project. With the Central Bank, we  are working in the area of remittances and financial statistics of Governments through projects carried out by our partners, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund," it was  said by the Deputy Director for Cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland in BH David Kramer.

In his address during the presentation of the results, the CBBH Governor Senad Softić, Ph.D. pointed out that the special quality of the program has been very open partnership dialogue and practical approach based on a full understanding of the specific features and needs of the CBBH and the excellent cooperation with the Institute of Geneva and the transfer of knowledge from top experts and esteemed professors. Governor Softić recalled the extremely useful training for the CBBH management in order to improve the skills of leadership and management. In addition, all the seminars and interactive workshops that were held in the framework of the program have encouraged the exchange of information, knowledge and experience between different Departments and they resulted in improving the overall performance.

The CBBH continuously strengths the institutional and technical capacities to comply with international and European standards of the central banking, and this successful project is an additional incentive to continue the further actions to strengthen the knowledge, professional cooperation and exchange of experience.

”I appreciate that our Swiss partners recognized the importance of the CBBH in the reform process and the process of European integration, and I hope that we will have the further support and that we shall continue our cooperation in 2017,” said the Governor during the presentation of the Program results.