The Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – Selmo Cikotic and the Ambassador of the Republic of France – Christine Toudic signed yesterday in Sarajevo a Technical Agreement between the BiH Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of France on cooperation in combating illegal trade in firearms, ammunition, and explosives.
The agreement will enable the continuation of the cooperation started by the specialized services, improve the exchange of information on the illegal trade in weapons and strengthen the technical capacities of the competent authorities in BiH when it comes to the field of criminal technique and forensics.
BiH and France decided to work together to combat these crimes, especially because of the role that illegal trade has in the development of international terrorism and transnational organized crime.
Minister Cikotic assessed this type of cooperation as mutually beneficial, stating that any detection of illegal weapons or a network of smugglers will be a joint contribution to the fight against global threats, but also will help to improve the general security of citizens.
Ambassador Toudic emphasized that the signing of this new agreement testifies to France’s commitment to bilateral and regional activities to prevent and counter the illegal trade in weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
“In this regard, BiH is an important partner of France. This agreement is also proof of the joint efforts of BiH and France to strengthen police cooperation, especially operational cooperation, in the fight against transnational organized crime, which endangers the security of both countries, and even the whole Europe, ” Toudic said.
It is planned to establish a permanent criminal intelligence network whose main mission is to prevent and fight the illegal trade in firearms. The special focus will be on gathering information on criminal groups, identifying perpetrators and helpers in the illegal arms trade, conducting joint operational actions, weapons confiscating, as well as detecting property acquired through mentioned illegal activities.
