While most University of Baltimore students take a vacation and some
diligent ones hit the books during spring break this March, a gathering
of dignitaries and businesspeople from southern Europe will convene at
the UB midtown campus to talk about Maryland as their primary point of
contact with the American business world. On March 23 and 24, the
US-Balkans Business Summit
will welcome top-level officials from seven countries in the region of
the former Yugoslavia to Charm City. Among the most prominent attendees
will be Bakir Izetbegovic, one of the three presidents of
Bosnia-Herzegovina's tripartite executive, and Filip Vuljanovic,
President of Montenegro.
Charles Dillon, President of the
US-Balkans Business Alliance, says that Balkan heads of state and
commercial powers are "looking to Maryland as a gateway to enter the
U.S. marketplace." In addition to officials, Dillon says that close to
sixty private companies from the Balkans will come to Baltimore for the
forum. The event builds on standing relationships between Maryland and
the region: Maryland National Guard forces have engaged in over 200
joint training exercises with soldiers from Bosnia-Herzegovina since a
"sister state" partnership was established in 2003, and the state
operates a trade office for the western Balkans in Podgorica, the
capital of Montenegro, under the auspices of the Department of Business
and Economic Development. US-Balkans Business Summit staff will assist
attendees in arranging business-to-business meetings and
business-to-government meetings over the course of the two-day event,
with the goal of establishing lasting ties between Maryland and the
Balkans.
Writer: Sam Hopkins
Source: Charles Dillon, Esq.