The Eighth Forum of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region /EUSAIR/ and the annual meeting of the Council of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative /JJI/ at the level of foreign ministers began in Sarajevo today.
The organizers are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Directorate for European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relevant ministry announced.
This event is the final one of BiH’s one-year chairmanship of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative and the EU strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian region, and the chairmanship formally ends on May 31, when Croatia takes over the chairmanship.
After the meeting of the Council of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, which is planned to start on the same day at 11:40 a.m., the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković, director of the Directorate for European Integration Edin Dilberović and representative of the General Directorate for Regional and Urban Policy Slavomir Tokarski will address the media.
The Adriatic-Ionian Initiative was founded in 2000 with the aim of encouraging development, strengthening security and intensifying cooperation between the countries of the region, and speeding up integration processes in Europe, and in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, Italy, San Marino, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Albania.
EUSAIR is one of the four EU macro-regional strategies, which represents an instrument for strengthening regional cooperation with the aim of encouraging growth, sustainable development and bringing the countries of the Western Balkans closer to the EU.
In addition to EUSAIR, BiH also participates in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region /EUSDR/. The rally will last until May 25.