Turković visits North Macedonia: Strengthening ties and regional connectivity

(Patria) - Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turković met on 20 January 2023 with the President of the Republic of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, the President of the Sobranie Talat Xhaferi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of that country Bujar Osmani.

Minister Turković is on an official and working visit to North Macedonia with the aim of strengthening ties and regional connectivity.

After the meeting with Minister Osmani, a press conference was held during which Minister Turković stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina has no open issues with North Macedonia, but that cooperation can and must be much more intensive. 

“That is why today we discussed strengthening our ties, cooperation, and the situation in the Western Balkans region in the new geopolitical circumstances. The ties are unquestionable, historical, cultural, the ties between ordinary people are unbreakable and they cross all borders. We feel at home here. However, it is necessary to establish a functional framework for better travel communication and strengthen economic connectivity. We have a number of bilateral agreements, but we lack an airline between Sarajevo and Skopje. Perhaps both sides need to invest more in that direction and the results will be better. It would be good to sign an interstate agreement on economic cooperation as soon as possible, which we discussed today,” stated Minister Turković. 

North Macedonia is entering a period of chairing the OSCE, which is important not only for North Macedonia but for the entire region. 

“Both countries are often victims of some regional movements that affect our faster progress towards the European Union. In a certain way, our two countries are also connected by the fact that we were without a shred of guilt for the breakup of the former state, yet we suffered the most and the most severe consequences,” the minister pointed out. 

The situation in the region and progress towards the EU were also discussed. 

“Bosnia and Herzegovina therefore advocates for regional cooperation within the framework of the Berlin Process, with the aim that our connectivity accelerates the approach of the entire region to the European Union. That is the direction we want to go. BiH has achieved historic progress with candidate status, and now is the opportunity to meet the remaining conditions to reach the opening of membership negotiations. That will not be easy given the political situation in our country.

Forming unstable governments with narrow coalitions and disrupting the balance to the detriment of one people is not the path that will bring us rapid progress. I also informed colleague Bujar about the events in BiH after the elections and the perspective we see,” added Minister Turković.

Officials of North Macedonia expressed readiness to strengthen ties and for concrete joint activities to establish a regular direct flight between the two countries.