I hope that citizens will demand politicians’ responsibility this autumn to fulfill the promises when they gave to undertake reforms, the American ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack said in an interview for Radiosarajevo.ba.
He highlighted that it’s the end of annual vacations and that she hopes that political leaders will dedicate themselves to those reforms which are nearing completion and which would allow BiH to realize significant development on the path towards EU and NATO.
Cormack spoke about the strong reactions from Republika Srpska, the smaller of the two BiH entities, about the legally binding decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the registry of military property on the state.
“The future of BiH is in euroatlantic integrations. That is the direction in which the whole region is moving. That is what will ensure stability and security in this country and this region. We support the decision of the Constitutional Court. The decision regard Han Pijesak is the next step towards fulfilling of the conditions set in Tallinn, which will allow the activation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP). We’re content with the decision of the Constitutional Court,” Cormack said.
The MAP, she says, is the next step in that process which was thought of in order to help the country to enter the process of modernizing its armed forces. It’s a program which increases the capacity of the armed forces and increases cooperation with the allies within NATO. She noted that security and stability are especially evident in the economy.
“American companies are asking me regarding investing in BiH, since it has a good geographic location and a talented work force. But, simply, after a while, they leave because they’re sure about their investment,” the American ambassador said.
She highlighted that no one wake up one morning and find out that BiH is a member of NATO, since it’s a transparent process which is done in order to achieve a goal. NATO decides unanimously.
“But that’ll all last and it’s not time for that. This political debate is a manipulation, because there’s still a lot to do in order to get to that goal,” she said.
One of the practical ways to solve this problem is the role of public-private partnerships. Recently, I visited the Clinical Center in Banja Luka where two programs, in cooperation with the US, are being conducted. One is regarding radiotherapy, where there’s cooperation with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. That partnership allowed them to install the most modern equipment in Banja Luka and to maintain contact with their colleagues. They also have a partnership with the Mayo clinic in the sphere of intense care. For example, in FBiH or on the state level, there is no law on public-private partnership and I’m calling on all politicians to create at least that legal framework so such partnerships could be created.
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
