The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, participated yesterday and today, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman, at the International Conference “Dubrovnik Forum 2024”.
The two-day international meeting in Dubrovnik, which took place this year under the slogan “Dangerous Straits and Safe Passages”, was divided into a series of panels. Today, on the second day of the Forum, Minister Konaković participated in the panel entitled “Western Balkans: Unlocking the Reform Potential”.
During the panel discussion, Konaković referred to the EU enlargement process and the progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He emphasized that the processes that enabled progress and then the adoption of the Decision of the European Council on the opening of negotiations with BiH are currently stopped in BiH. He added that it happened after the visit of the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik to Russian President Putin on June 6 of this year. He pointed out that “it is quite clear that Dodik is under Russian control” and that this is why he is blocking our country’s European path.
Konaković said that he believes in dialogue, even though, as he stated, he knows that he will bear the consequences because dialogue is not popular in our country, especially with those who deny genocide and celebrate war crimes, and said that he must do it for the sake of political responsibility and our future .
He reminded that progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina is possible because this coalition at the state level in the Council of Ministers, which includes Dodik, managed to implement certain reforms and adopt 16 laws.
He assessed that there is too much Russian influence in the Western Balkans region and that it is not only a problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He expressed the hope that in our country there will still be a continuation of the reform process on the European path, especially when it comes to the Growth Plan, which will enable economic progress and stop the departure of young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also referred to regional relations and the improvement of cooperation, stressing the exceptional role of Croatia when it comes to supporting BiH’s European integration.
In addition to Minister Konaković, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania Igli Hasani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Northern of Macedonia Timcho Mucunski, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Stojanović, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien, EU Special Representative for Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and other regional issues of the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajčak and High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt.
