The permanent under-secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom Simon McDonald arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for a two-day visit.
The top British diplomat emphasized the permanent dedication of the United Kingdom to the stability, security and prosperity of BiH, as well as the region as a whole.
He marked the beginning of the British chairmanship of the “Berlin process” and discussed plans about the next Western Balkans Summit, which will be held in 2018 in the UK.
During the visit, McDonald met with the chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizic, the minister of foreign affairs Igor Crnadak and the prime minister of the Federation of BiH Fadil Novalic. He discussed the future of British support to the reforms in the fields of moderation and the various ways in which BiH can speed up its Euroatlantic integrations.
Moreover, Sir McDonald visited the base in Butmir in order to be briefed on the newest details of EUFOR operations regarding maintaining security.
He met with members of the British embassy’s Fellowship program, which are leaders in various fields in BiH. Many of them are involved in a wide specter of projects which are financed by the British government, such as strengthening professionalism, independence and efficiency of the judiciary and security sectors in BiH, as well as the battle against corruption.
Large projects are underway, which are aimed to better the business ambient and strengthening the private sector, in order to create new jobs and opportunities for youth from the entire country.
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