The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is the strategic partner of the event while the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) will be a key participant.

"The Sarajevo Business Forum will be attended by a number of political and business leaders, including Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary-general; Ahmed Mohamed Ali, IDB president; Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero," said Elvir Ibrovic, a spokesman of the Embassy of Bosnia & Herzegovina here on Saturday. The event will be organized under presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic, the spokesman added.

The two-day event, Ibrovic said, will be inaugurated on April 6. He said that Bosnia and Herzegovina has development potential despite its continuing problems following the war. The tying of the Bosnian currency to the euro has brought price stability and a low inflation rate. "Commerce and some other service sectors have developed well in recent years," said Ibrovic.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said, offers great investment opportunities. Particular opportunities exist in the energy industry, which has major export potential. The country is currently the region's only net exporter of electricity. Opportunities for growth are also evident in timber, construction, textiles, leather and food industries as well as in energy, tourism and IT sectors. Mineral resources are an additional factor as the country is rich in lead, copper, iron ore, zinc, bauxite and coal.

"A number of delegations of investors from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Egypt, Malaysia, Jordan, Oman, Croatia, Turkey, Slovakia, and even China, have confirmed their participations so far," said the embassy spokesman.