Construction of thermal, hydro and wind power plants, roads and railways, the opening of scientific and cultural institutions, liberalization of the visa regime, organization of conferences and forums within the forum 16 + 1 in the fields of agriculture and innovation, are only some of the areas in which the People’s Republic of China and BiH agreed their cooperation or formalize it at the 6th Summit of China and countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC), which is also known as Cooperation 16 + 1.
The high delegation of BiH, led by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdic, attended the summit that took place on November 27, in Budapest. This is the third time for the Chairman Zvizdic to participate in the 16 + 1 summit, during which he attended a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of China, Li Keqiang.
Among bilateral agreements that these two countries signed, the abolishment of visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Council of Ministers of BiH definitely stands out, and it was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Igor Crnadak and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi.
The second very important document is the Agreement on Agricultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture of China and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, and it was signed by the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Sarovic and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi. This agreement will set the foundations for further cooperation in the sector of trade with agricultural products and agricultural investments.
The third agreement that the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China noted from the Summit is the Agreement on Loan for the Block 7 of the Thermal Power Plant (TPP) in Tuzla.
The Ambassador of PR China in BiH emphasized that agreements signed for a certain number of projects have the value of almost 4 billion BAM, and they include the construction of hydroelectric power plants and wind farms, roads and railways. Therefore, energy cooperation between the two countries made a significant progress from traditional energy sources to new energy sources and it opened the construction of transport infrastructures as a new sector of cooperation. They also signed an agreement on the opening of the Confucius Institute at the University of Banja Luka. It is the second institute that will open its doors in BiH after the first one was opened at the University of Sarajevo back in 2014.
“I can say that BiH has gained more than ever during this year’s Summit, and I know that more initiatives mean more work and effort for me and my colleagues, but I consider them as “sweet effort”. I am ready to invest my efforts in BiH in order to make a continuous improvement of our cooperation and friendly relations towards a common goal: to record another successful year before the next Summit 16 + 1 with all agreed projects and initiatives that were successfully implemented, and to start many new ones,” concluded Ambassador of PR China in BiH, Chen Bo.
(Source: klix.ba)
