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Akbar Novruz

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Israeli officials have opened an Israeli Chamber of Commerce office in Banja Luka, the administrative center of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb-majority Republika Srpska, in a move highlighting growing economic and political ties between Israel and the entity’s leadership.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli attended Thursday’s opening ceremony, along with Israel’s ambassador to Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Galit Peleg, and Republika Srpska officials.

Chikli said the new chamber should serve as a permanent link between Israeli businesses and companies in Republika Srpska and the wider region.

“The chamber must become a permanent point of contact for Israeli companies seeking opportunities in Republika Srpska and the broader region,” Chikli said.

Addressing Milorad Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska and a prominent advocate of greater autonomy for the entity, Chikli described the leadership of Republika Srpska as “true friends of Israel and the Jewish people.”

“We now have the privilege of taking this relationship to a higher level and turning our friendship into action,” he said, according to the Republika Srpska news agency.

Peleg also attended the ceremony and received a medal from Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan.

The opening comes against the backdrop of increasingly close relations between Israel and Republika Srpska. Dodik has played a prominent role in developing ties with Israel, while Republika Srpska’s leadership has pursued policies seeking greater autonomy from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s central institutions, raising concerns among Bosnian authorities and international officials over the country’s territorial and political cohesion.

The new trade office is intended to facilitate contacts between Israeli companies and businesses in Republika Srpska, although the scale of its potential economic impact remains uncertain.

“It is not clear how much economic benefit this move brings,” Vuk Vuksanovic, a lecturer in foreign policy and grand strategy at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, told Middle East Eye.

“Still, it does show a continuation of close ties between Israel and Republika Srpska, which have been ongoing for the past 15 years and have intensified over the past three years,” he added.

Chikli has been a vocal supporter of Israel’s policies in Gaza and has faced international criticism over remarks concerning the displacement of Palestinians from the territory.