The Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdžija met yesterday in Sarajevo with ambassadors of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) accredited in BiH, in preparation for the donors’ conference and the reconstruction of the country after the catastrophic floods.
The meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was attended by Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Eid Mohammed A. Althakafi, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Hossein Rajabi, Kuwait Ambassador Nasser Riden Thamer Almotairi, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Yasser Sayed Mahmoud Elatawi, Ambassador of Libya Arebi S.A. Halloudi, Ambassador of Qatar Rashid Mubarak Al-Kawari, Ambassador of Malaysia Anuar bin Kasman, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Sutadi Hadivyoto and counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey Ismail Cevelik and a representative of the Embassy of the State of Palestine.
Lagumdžija took this opportunity to thank the diplomatic representatives of the OIC member states for the assistance that their countries provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the floods, as well as for their personal commitment.
He also expressed gratitude for the appeal the OIC sent to the international community to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in the recovery from the effects of catastrophic flooding, and after the meeting that he had with the ambassadors of the Contact Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina of the OIC in New York, as well as for the support from the last week’s meeting of foreign ministers of the OIC in Jeddah.
Lagumdžija briefed his interlocutors on the extent of the damages and assessment of the needs for recovery.
He said that although the final report on the assessment of the damage has not yet been released, generally it can be concluded that, unfortunately, the damage is much greater than it was originally estimated.
He noted that the estimates of the World Bank suggest that the damage amounts to 5 to 10 percent of GDP in BiH, and it can now be said that it is 16 percent of GDP, or 4 billion KM, which is the amount of four-year budget of the BiH institutions.
Lagumdžija stressed that the overall needs of Bosnia and Herzegovina for reconstruction and recovery from the effects of floods and landslides are estimated at 3.281 billion KM, and the same can be divided into three categories: securing homes for the homeless by the beginning of winter, preservation and security of jobs and creating new ones and long-term reconstruction and recovery.
In the long-term reconstruction and recovery measures investments in the system of flood protection will also be included.
Lagumdžija then informed his interlocutors about the upcoming international donors’ conference that according to previous information should be held on 16 July 2014 in Brussels, for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
He said that in the next few days, the governments of the OIC Member States will receive official invitation to attend the donors’ conference, as well as all other relevant information.
“The support you have provided so far has been very important and we expect that it will be continued in the future,” stressed Lagumdžija.
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Bosnia and Herzegovina Eid Mohammed A. Althakafi on behalf of the group of diplomatic representatives of the Member States of OIC welcomed the holding of this meeting and thanked Lagumdžija for providing the information.
He noted that they will inform their governments about the details of the meeting, and expressed willingness of the OIC Member States to provide Bosnia and Herzegovina with all possible support, stated the Public Relations Office of the MFA of BiH.
(Surce: Fena)
