The Crown Prince and Defense Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Selman BIh Abdulazzi Al Saud received yesterday a delegation of the BIH Parliament that is on an official working visit to this country.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Božo Ljubić led the BiH delegation, which was also composed of the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Denis Bećirović, Deputy Chairman of the House of Peoples Ognjen Tadić and Head of the Club of Bosniaks in the House of Peoples Halid Genjac, announced the BIH Paliament.
Ljubić conveyed his gratitude and respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their support and help to BiH since the war up until now, both in the humanitarian sphere and through soft loans for the reconstruction of war-damaged buildings, construction of transport, education and health infrastructure.
Responding to Ljubić’s gratitude, Prince Selman said that he sees his role in this process as the most successful one in his life.
The host of the meeting expressed interest in the internal situation in BiH, its relations with its neighbors in the process of EU accession, and Ljubić said to Selman that, despite to the heavy legacy of the past, the three constituent peoples, who were represented as part of the delegation, are determined to build a stable BiH.
He also said that the regional context is very favorable because BiH’s neighbors support the territorial sovereignty of BIH, adding that with Croatia’s accession on 1 July 2013, the EU will share 1.000 kilometers of border with BiH. For BiH, this represents an incentive and opportunity for rapid progress towards this European association.
Crown Prince Selman assessed that EU membership is the natural path for BiH, due to its vital position in Central and Eastern Europe.
Ljubić said that in BiH there is a consensus to join the EU, and that thanks to this connection it can be expected in the near future. He added that this opens up significant economic opportunities and for countries that are friends of BiH, because BiH is an opportunity for foreign investors in various areas in infrastructure, hydropower sector, production of organic food and tourism.
Ljubić said that it would be very important to, given the huge investment opportunities, to include Saudi Arabia in this process.
They all agreed that the task of the executive bodies of these two countries to become more concrete for economic projects, which would continue to affect positive feedback and to further political relations.
Therefore, Prince Selman said that bilateral relations and cooperation at the multilateral level have to continue, and Ljubić said that it is necessary to unite in order to fight against all forms of extremism. Saudi Arabia makes a significant contribution not only at the practical level, but also through activities in the Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue “Kralj Abdullah” in Vienna.
In the continuation of the working visit to Saudi Arabia, the BiH delegation will meet with other high officials, such as the Friendship Group for BIH that operates within the Saudi Consultative Assembly.
