The Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Staša Košarac, spoke in Sarajevo with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Kalabuhov, about current political and economic issues.
Košarac thanked the Russian Federation for its principled stance regarding the affirmation of the Dayton Agreement and international law.
He emphasized that the RS and its officials are advocating for an internal agreement between the two entities and three constituent nations within the Dayton BiH, and that international interventionism is completely unacceptable.
Košarac reiterated the position that the representatives of the RS will not allow the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation, as well as that it is necessary to respect its constitutional position in this context.
The interlocutors assessed that good political relations are the foundation for the improvement of foreign trade exchange between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Russian Federation. They especially welcomed the fact that the Russian Federation, according to the official data of the Central Bank of BiH, is the largest investor in BiH in nine months of 2023, and that it invested 312 million BAM in BiH.
It was underlined that the delivery of Russian gas to BiH takes place regularly and orderly, and that thanks to the good relations between the President of the RS Milorad Dodik and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the citizens of BiH are provided with Russian gas at more favorable prices.
Ambassador Kalabuhov informed Minister Kosarac that the competent authorities of the Russian Federation responded positively to his request regarding the harmonization of phytosanitary certificate forms and the increase in the export of agricultural products from BiH to the Russian market, and that in this regard a visit by representatives of the Veterinary Office of BiH and Directorate for Plant Health Protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Russian Federation.
At the meeting, it was agreed that bilateral negotiations between BiH and the Russian Federation would be intensified in the following period in order to fulfill the remaining condition for BiH’s membership in the World Trade Organization, and after the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Decision on the quality of petroleum liquid fuels.
Košarac and Kalabuhov also discussed the possibility of the next meeting of the co-chairmen of the Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation between BiH and the Russian Federation being held in Banja Luka, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs of BiH announced.
