Bosnia and Herzegovina has successfully reclaimed multi-million dollar diplomatic and consular property worldwide

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The diplomatic – consular property of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), buildings and land, is estimated at 266.4 million US dollars. According to the principles of the "Agreement on Succession Issues of the former SFRY", signed by the former Yugoslav countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina is entitled to 15% of this value. This percentage applies whether it concerns physical distribution or the division of acquired financial assets.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH and authorized representative of the state in the Joint Committee for the distribution of diplomatic and consular property of the former SFRY, Adnan Hadžikapetanović, explains to the Patria news agency:

“This property has been distributed according to geographical regions, and the distribution is carried out according to the respective percentages in the mentioned regions. The OECD region comprises 67 properties with a total value of 201 million US dollars, of which BiH should receive 30.15 million. Rest of Europe, according to the Agreement, comprises 6 properties with a total value of 20.9 million dollars, of which BiH should receive 3.135 million. Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Agreement, comprise 13 properties with a total value of 11.4 million dollars, of which BiH should receive 1.71 million. Asia, according to the Agreement, comprises 7 properties with a total value of 9.1 million dollars, of which BiH should receive 1.365 million. North Africa, according to the Agreement, comprises 6 properties with a total value of 4.7 million, of which BiH should receive 0.75 million US dollars. Africa South of the Sahara, according to this agreement, comprises 24 properties with a total value of 19.3 million dollars, of which BiH should receive 2.895 million.

The authorized representative of the state in the Joint Committee for the distribution of diplomatic and consular property of the former SFRY, Hadžikapetanović, also explains what property Bosnia and Herzegovina has received in the distribution process so far:

Embassy in Great Britain (10.9 USD), residence in Austria (1.8 USD), apartment in Italy (0.2 USD), embassy in Canada (2.5 USD), residence in Hungary (0.6 USD), embassy in Norway (1.7 USD), house in the USA (1.2 USD), embassy in Spain (3.2 USD), embassy in Turkey (0.9 USD), embassy in Kenya (1.6 USD), embassy in Algeria - BiH and RH in ideal parts 0.3 (total 0.6 USD), and compensation for Egypt (0.33 USD). The total amounts to 25.23 million US dollars.

Hadžikapetanović states that all acquired properties are located in the most representative locations in the mentioned cities, and their current value is many times higher.

Joint Sale Process

He points out that, in addition to physical distribution, and based on the Council of Ministers' Decision to initiate the process of joint sale of diplomatic and consular property of the former SFRY for which no successor state of the former SFRY has shown interest, the sale process of property in New York (Permanent Mission and residential apartment), in Bonn (Embassy), in Bern (Embassy and Residence), and Tokyo (Embassy and Residence) began in 2017. Offers are being collected through an international agency, for whose engagement all successor states have given their consent. So far, the sale of the former SFRY's residential apartment in New York has been completed for 12.1 million USD.

“It is very important that this sale has been completed, as it is the first joint sale, but the property itself was burdened with the payment of necessary costs to the Corporation managing the building, which will be paid to Serbia from the proceeds of the sale /Serbia paid these costs from 1992 to 2018 to keep the property in possession of the successor states/. The distribution of funds from the sale among countries will be carried out in accordance with the respective percentages according to the Agreement /BiH 15%/”, explains Hadžikapetanović.

“We certainly hope that the sale will be successfully realized and that we will achieve a better result on the market than the estimated value”, he adds.

Adnan Hadžikapetanović 

The Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH and the state's representative in the Joint Committee for the distribution of diplomatic and consular property of the former SFRY explains that for other properties subject to sale, there have been certain offers in the past period that did not result in the signing of sales contracts. He emphasizes that the process includes verifying the buyer's credibility and achieving the highest possible sale price.

“Once we have a sales contract agreed upon /between the potential buyer and all successor states/, it is our obligation to submit it to the competent institutions in BiH for an opinion and to the Council of Ministers of BiH for adoption. Likewise, other successor states have their internal procedures that they must complete. Because of all this, the process is very complicated, but intensive work is being done to reach the best possible offer as soon as possible and complete the necessary procedures”, Adnan Hadžikapetanović explains to Patria.

Property in New Delhi, Moscow, and Brazilia

“In the next period, at the upcoming meetings, work will be done on resolving the distribution of so-called large complexes located in New Delhi, Moscow, and Brazilia. However, after visits and meetings held at the ministries of foreign affairs in Moscow, New Delhi, and Brazilia, it became clear that the distribution will not be simple due to the procedures of the host countries, the interests of the states (properties in all locations are of very large square footage, and some successor countries have special conditions in case of joint use of space, etc.), the respective percentages by country, and so on. Resolving the distribution of these complexes can only be achieved through compromise solutions that will satisfy all states. Precisely because of the complexity, they are being considered and discussed in the same context”.

Hadžikapetanović emphasizes that the implementation of Annex B of the Agreement and the work of the Joint Committee for the distribution of diplomatic and consular property of the former SFRY is a complex process that successor states have been working on for decades, but what is essentially important for the implementation of Annex B is that it is an area where a lot of work has been done, that the meetings of the Joint Committee are held regularly (19 official meetings and a large number of consultative, preparatory, and bilateral meetings have been held), and that the five successor states are reaching the necessary compromises, which significantly affects bilateral and regional relations. He explains that this is an Annex that is largely ahead of some other areas of the Agreement. He notes that in the continuation of the process, very complicated situations involving host countries must be resolved, and the entire job is not easy at all.

“The benefits of implementing all these activities are manifold. Bosnia and Herzegovina has acquired property in representative locations worldwide, whose current market value is many times higher than the estimates from Annex B, it expects a significant inflow of financial resources in the sales process, the process itself is proof that compromise is possible, and that the most important thing is to continuously engage in dialogue to reach solutions”, says Hadžikapetanović.

Working Group for the Distribution of Artworks

Within the framework of implementing Annex B of the Agreement on Succession Issues, a Working Group of experts for the distribution of artworks that were located in the facilities of the former SFRY also operates. They have had fourteen meetings so far, and the last meeting was held in Sarajevo in December last year. The meeting was successful, and the next one will be held in the Republic of Macedonia. Experts for the distribution of artworks have completed a large part of the work and have even been ahead of the distribution of properties in certain phases of Annex B implementation. After the experts determine which country certain artworks belong to, their handover is carried out. Artworks are registered and kept in the diplomatic missions of BiH until the final distribution or the completion of the experts' work. The experts are working very successfully and in a synchronized manner, and all artworks taken over for BiH represent valuable cultural heritage of historical importance.