Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) Sasa Magazinovicmet in Washington, at the State Department, with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Brendan Hanrahan and his deputy Mark Fleming, the Public Relations Sector of the PABiH reported, citing a statement from the Social Democratic Party of BiH parliamentary caucus in the House of Representatives.
Members of the delegation who attended the meeting included representatives Damir Masic and Igor Crnadak, as well as Minister in the Canton Sarajevo (CS) Government Darja Softic-Kadunic.
The discussion focused on the latest political developments in BiH, as well as on the priorities for future cooperation in the interest of both countries, primarily on the project to build a new gas pipeline, the Southern Gas Interconnection.
Senior State Department officials were also briefed on the content and current procedure for amendments to the Public Procurement Law and the Criminal Code of BiH, which, after adoption in the House of Representatives, await confirmation by the House of Peoples. According to numerous experts, these two laws represent the largest anti-corruption reform in the past two decades.
During the visit to Washington, the delegation also held a series of meetings with representatives of both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress and Senate, where the latest political events in BiH were also a dominant topic. On this occasion, it was once again confirmed that our country has numerous friends in U.S. institutions who, without exception, emphasize stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of BiH as a shared priority.
“I consider this visit extremely successful and well-prepared. We spoke with key people in Washington regarding BiH and also held numerous meetings with representatives of the academic community, NGOs, foundations, lobbyists, as well as BiH citizens working in various governmental and non-governmental institutions. It is extremely important to strengthen our presence in Washington because if we do not convey information about events in our homeland ourselves, someone else will, which has recently become an observable practice. I expect that in the coming period, through concrete activities within U.S. institutions, it will once again be confirmed that our country has friends in Washington,” said Magazinović.
The visit of the BiH delegation was realized at the invitation and organization of Arcadia University and, in addition to working meetings in Washington, included work and meetings with students and professors of this university, as well as numerous panel discussions.
