Merkel says: Germany will be a partner to Western Balkan countries

A meeting of the prime ministers of Albania, Croatia, BiH, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia with German Chancellor Angela Merkel concluded at the seat of the German government, after which a press conference was held. In addition to Merkel, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also addressed the conference. Merkel stated that joint projects in the Balkans are needed in the areas of infrastructure, increasing jobs and employment, and that Germany will be a partner, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

It was agreed that meetings will be held every year, with Austria hosting next year.

- We have a lot of work to do. We need political solutions, such as those already partially achieved between Serbia and Kosovo. Elections are upcoming in BiH, and after them we expect the reform process to move faster. We will see how the process of forming a new government goes. Germany will be a partner, but it is up to the political parties to show a stronger interest in everything expected of BiH - Merkel said.

Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda told BHT1 that we cannot separate ourselves from our neighbors and we should not do so.

- Today we concluded bilateral meetings. We highlighted projects that bring benefits and open our region to the rest of Europe and the world. I am satisfied that relationships of trust and sincerity have been built - Bevanda said.

Earlier in the day, BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdžija participated in a conference of heads of government, foreign ministers, and economic ministers on the Western Balkans.

In addition to Lagumdžija, the BiH delegation consists of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Vjekoslav Bevanda and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH Boris Tučić.

A session titled "New Regional Paradigm" was held with the participation of foreign ministers of Western Balkan countries, Slovenia, Croatia, European Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle, and the host of the meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

During his address, Lagumdžija welcomed Germany's intention to launch an initiative to "increase purchasing power" starting next year through German investors. This refers to the intention to systematically encourage German investors to invest and thereby raise the overall economic potential of the region.

- There are enough reasons to establish connections we have not managed before and rebuild the bridges we have destroyed, with the help of the EU, whose soft power of pre-accession funds and good neighborly policies has helped us reach this level - Lagumdžija said.

In his opinion, the Berlin conference is a clear sign of support for the European Union enlargement process, i.e., support for the European integration of BiH and other Western Balkan countries. He advocated for the implementation of joint regional projects in the areas of energy, infrastructure, and natural disaster prevention and management, specifically for the implementation of the Adriatic-Ionian Highway and the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) projects, regional natural disaster prevention and management projects: between BiH, Croatia, and Serbia - establishing a regional center for early warning and flood monitoring; between BiH, Croatia, and Montenegro - establishing a regional center for rapid action in fire prevention and extinguishing, as well as for the construction of the Nikšić - Trebinje - Čapljina railway line, modernization of the railway line from Sarajevo to Belgrade via Doboj, Tuzla, and Zvornik, construction of an interstate bridge over the Sava River near Svilaj, and implementation of the project for the restoration and modernization of the Sava River waterway.

As announced, Lagumdžija will host foreign ministers of the region's countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to continue concrete discussions on the implementation of the conclusions of the Berlin Conference, as preparation for the meeting of foreign and economic ministers in October this year in Belgrade.