The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, said that the atmosphere in Brussels has clearly and sincerely changed when it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that candidate status is a historic opportunity for BiH.
Prime Minister Golob arrived today on an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the plateau in front of the building of BiH institutions, he was met with military honors by the chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto
“Slovenia does not want to be a friendly state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its biggest ally,” he pointed out.
“We offer all the help, from technical, administrative, professional to financial, on BiH’s path to the EU. In the conversation with Chair Krišto, we also expressed our opinion regarding the economic potential of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is room for improvement, especially in the area of renewable energy sources. Slovenia is ready to invest in that part,” stated the Prime Minister of Slovenia.
He said that Slovenia wants stability in this part of Europe, because of the economic relations between the countries, but also because of the past.
He pointed out that an important change has taken place within the country in Slovenia and that the principle of solidarity between peoples and political cooperation has intensified, because this is the only way to achieve progress.
The Chairperson of the BiH Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, said that BiH and Slovenia have traditionally had good relations, especially economic ones, and thanked them for everything they do for BiH in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration.
“This is something that BiH means, in a formal legal sense we are one step closer to the EU family. The place of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the European family,” said Krišto.
Krišto said that this is something that means a lot for BiH at this moment.
“We are one step closer to the European family in the formal and legal sense. This signal and candidate status is what sends the message that BiH’s place is in the European family,” said the Chair of the Council of Ministers, and thanked the Republic of Slovenia for everything it does regarding the European path through professional and technical assistance.
She said the intention is to sign an agreement on cooperation and technical and professional assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Republic of Slovenia for the European and Euro-Atlantic path.
Krišto informed the Prime Minister of Slovenia that the focus of the Council of Ministers is on European reforms and that the Council of Ministers of BiH has already taken steps when it comes to public administration reform, the internal market, the competitiveness of infrastructure projects and other things necessary for the functioning of the Subcommittee between BiH and the EU by the Stabilization and Association Agreement.
“What we in BiH also need to pay attention to is to work on political opportunities, on internal political dialogue, given that BiH is, according to the Constitution, a state of three constituent nations and other citizens who live in it. We must make limited changes to the Constitution of BiH and the overall reform of the electoral legislation based on the principles of constitutional equality of all three constituent peoples and others living in BiH,” Krišto pointed out.
Golob and Krišto discussed, among other things, the candidate status of BiH, bilateral relations, opportunities for improvement, as well as regional cooperation.
After the meeting with Kristo, Golob will meet with members of the BiH Presidency as well as members of the collegium of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and will walk through the old part of Sarajevo.