Israel opens trade office in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska

What the report says

Israel’s Chamber of Commerce has opened a new trade office in Banja Luka, the largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb-majority Republika Srpska, according to Al Jazeera. The office is intended to strengthen commercial links between Israeli business interests and the entity’s institutions and economy.

Al Jazeera said the development is taking place against a political backdrop in which former Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has publicly expressed support for Israel and sought closer ties with Donald Trump’s political circle. The report suggests the trade opening is not only economic but also connected to wider diplomatic and political positioning in the region.

Banja Luka is the administrative center of Republika Srpska, one of the two main entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina under the post-war constitutional arrangement. In that context, a foreign trade office can be seen as a modest but notable step in building bilateral business contacts, even though the article does not give details on the office’s mandate, staffing, or planned activities.

The timing, on 7 September 2026, places the move amid continued interest in how local leaders in the Balkans align themselves with foreign partners. Al Jazeera attributed the report to Nafisa Latic and presented it as part of broader regional political and economic developments.