Scholz with Bećirović: Any undermining of security and stability in the Western Balkans is unacceptable

(Patria) - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović spoke in Berlin with Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of an official visit to Germany.

This is the second meeting between Bećirović and Chancellor Scholz in the past five months.

Bećirović said that Germany is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's key foreign trade partners, which has been providing significant development support to Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, through improving the business environment, infrastructure, rule of law, and strengthening democracy.

The total foreign trade exchange between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany for 2023 amounted to 6 billion and 18 million KM, an increase of 358.6 million KM compared to 2022.



Bosnia and Herzegovina strives to further strengthen economic cooperation with the leading economy of the EU, with a focus on attracting direct foreign investments that would ensure growth in production and employment.

Bećirović pointed to dangerous attempts to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional order of BiH. He stated that the legal state bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with numerous allies, will protect the principles of constitutionality and legality of our country, and protect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the state of BiH.

Bećirović emphasized that Germany is one of the most important allies of the multi-ethnic state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thanked Chancellor Scholz for supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European and Euro-Atlantic path.

Scholz said that Germany strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the work of the High Representative, and that any undermining of security and stability in the Western Balkans is unacceptable to Germany.

He also stressed that Germany also supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's path towards the EU and NATO, emphasizing the alliance in the reform process aimed at improving the rule of law, strengthening democratic processes, and achieving economic growth and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.



Bećirović underlined that the opening of negotiations for full membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU has opened up opportunities for more comprehensive reforms that will lead to positive effects on Bosnian-Herzegovinian society and economy.

He particularly emphasized gratitude for Germany's engagement within the Berlin Process, and the continuation of commitment and support for accelerating the European integration of the Western Balkan countries, economic and infrastructural development, as well as improving regional cooperation.

He stressed the importance of the work and activities of the BiH diaspora in Germany, and emphasized that people originating from our country represent an important link between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany, but also that they play an important role in affirming the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The importance of adopting the Resolution on July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica, committed in 1995, was also discussed.