DODIK: OPENING OF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - FIRST INSTITUTIONAL FORM OF SRPSKA - ISRAEL COOPERATION

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – President Milorad Dodik has stated in Banja Luka this evening that the opening of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in Republika Srpska represents another element in building friendship between the two countries and gives new confidence to ambitious development plans.

Dodik says that Israel and Republika Srpska today stand shoulder to shoulder and that the flags of the two countries have flown for hundreds and thousands of years, even though many have tried to burn them, but failed because they were firmly held in the hands of Serbs and Jews. "Those strong hands did not allow our enemies to trample our flags, knowing that when symbols disappear, an entire people disappears with them. Israel is not only our friend but also our partner, and we want to replicate here some of the things that have been accomplished so perfectly in their country, to demonstrate that we are capable of doing so," Dodik said at the ceremony marking the opening of the Israel Chamber of Commerce. Dodik said that Israel and the Jewish people are proof that a small country and a small nation do not have to be inferior. "Through their perseverance, they show that they are great. That is why we are proud to be friends of the Jewish people," Dodik said. According to him, when a people faces constant threats and attacks and repeated attempts to destroy it, invincibility is created. "This is a characteristic of both the Jewish and Serb peoples. We have demonstrated that, even under impossible conditions and in historically hostile surroundings, we can preserve our identity and our sacred word - freedom," Dodik said. Dodik stressed that this meant the right to fight for truth and development, as well as the right to one’s identity. "We remain persistent in our efforts to show everyone around us that we are peoples of freedom," Dodik said. Dodik said that the pain of a Jewish mother anywhere in Israel and that of a mother in Kravice share the same underlying cause - the same enemy: one driven by hatred and religious fanaticism and by the desire to see others disappear. "The Jewish people is once again demonstrating that they are unbreakable, just like the Serb people. We prove this every day because our most important struggle is the struggle to survive and endure," Dodik said. Our friendship, Dodik added, is not measured by calculations, but by the history we have survived and by our hope that we will overcome the challenges and that future generations will live in freedom. "We are brothers in history and suffering, which is well known and clear to everyone. We understand perfectly what Israel means when it says ‘never again.’ We, too, say: never again Jasenovac, Prebilovci, Kravice or the 12 babies. The Jews need no translation when we say that we will not surrender what is ours, because they, too, persistently defend what is theirs," Dodik said. Dodik added that everything the two peoples had endured had given rise to trust that was deep, genuine, unbreakable and lasting. He said the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce was the first institutional form of cooperation with Israel in Republika Srpska. "This will be the address for all the business we conduct. This is a major thing for us. You have arrived at precisely the right moment, enabling our people to see that we have such important friends. I will do everything to make our cooperation even better and stronger," Dodik said. Dodik added that the Republika Srpska Government would develop a support programme for acquiring new technology from Israel, as Srpska needs it. He said Republika Srpska has prominent businesspeople who are the heroes of their time because they survived under the impossible conditions created by sanctions and isolation. "The sanctions were more devastating than the war itself. They ravaged our economy and caused us to lose our business elite. Those working today are rebuilding the economic system and business relations from the ground up, and they will have our support," Dodik said. Dodik wished all businesspeople every success in their future cooperation, saying they would have the support of Republika Srpska.