Plenković discussed with Izetbegović and Čović

Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegović and Croatian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Čović received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković who is on a two-day official visit to BiH. Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed satisfaction that the newly appointed Prime Minister of Croatia is visiting BiH only a day after the first session of the new Croatian government, assessing it as a symbolic message aimed at improving cooperation between the two neighboring and friendly countries, it was announced from the Presidency of BiH, reports Patria.

They informed the Prime Minister of Croatia about the progress achieved so far on our country's path towards Euro-Atlantic integration. They emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to preserving the positive momentum of the reform process outlined in the Reform Agenda for the period 2015-2018, with the aim of obtaining candidate status for EU membership by the end of 2017.

Furthermore, they stressed that BiH will accelerate and make additional efforts to fulfill all conditions so that the Council of the EU can, as soon as possible, consider BiH's membership application and adopt the Conclusion on forwarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's application to the European Commission, which would ultimately result in the European Commission delivering a Questionnaire to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Members of the Presidency of BiH expressed gratitude for the support and assistance provided by the Republic of Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of joining the European Union, with the hope that this support will continue in the future. In this context, members of the Presidency also personally thanked the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia for his role during his mandate as a Member of the European Parliament in actively participating in the drafting of every resolution on BiH.

Speaking about the positions of the 14th Croatian Government on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Plenković emphasized that BiH is highly positioned when it comes to the foreign policy priorities of the new Croatian Government.

I will advocate for the equality of all three constituent peoples and a whole Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its European path, which is the only guarantee of the country's cohesion and integrity, and for the protection of the equality of Croats as a constituent people throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized the Croatian Prime Minister. He also pointed out that the strategic interest of Croatia is the integration of all Southeast European countries into the European Union, but with clear respect for European values, fulfillment of criteria, and establishment of the rule of law.

The interlocutors expressed confidence that mutual visits, such as this one, at the highest level will provide a strong impetus for joint work on resolving all open bilateral issues of mutual interest, such as border issues, unresolved issues in property and legal relations, and labor relations, as well as reducing the deficit in economic and trade exchange.

The meeting was attended by Mira Pekić, advisor to the member of the Presidency of BiH Mladen Ivanić, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Josip Brkić, and the Ambassador of BiH to the Republic of Croatia Renata Paškalj.