Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Crnadak said after meeting with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Italy Paolo Gentiloni in Sarajevo that Italy is one of the founders and true pillars of the European Union (EU) and that he is pleased with extremely good the relations between Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also thanked Italy for the strong support to the new government in BiH in the commitment that 20 years after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina help its citizens to see “a new light at the end of the tunnel and that BiH is irreversibly turned to Europe and the future.”
In this context, it was agreed that BiH and Italy continue strengthening economic cooperation, noting that cooperation has been stabilized in recent years and that around 50 Italian companies already are doing business in BiH.
In addition to cooperation in the fields of economy, during the meeting they also discussed a number of issues in the field of security, fight against terrorism, fight against corruption and agreed that cooperation in these areas should continue.
Crnadak thanked Italy for rapid and vigorous response to the floods which occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina last year, and particularly thanked Italy on behalf of Zvornik, Sanski Most, Maglaj and Orašje, where the largest agricultural producers and small and medium enterprises received great assistance.
He also commented on yesterday’s attack on Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić in Potočari and strongly condemned it, stressing that it should not have happened, because Serbian Prime Minister, as he said, considering his good intentions, did not deserve it.
“For me it is especially important that the attack was condemned by members of the BiH Presidency, BiH Council of Ministers, the mothers of Srebrenica, Mayor of Srebrenica and many others,” he said, adding that he is convinced that yesterday’s event would not be an obstacle to the further development of good relations between BiH and Serbia.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said that Italy is among the countries that they are fighting strongly for the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union to be implemented.
He said that for Italy it is important for BiH to move with reforms on its path towards the EU, in spite of certain obstacles, as he pointed out, the reforms are crucial for further progress.
He mentioned the data by which the volume of foreign trade between BiH and Italy is about one billion and 300 million euros, making Italy the second largest trade partner of BiH and said that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
In terms of cultural cooperation, he recalled the Trieste and Sarajevo concerts, and the future Museum Ars Aevi, that Italy strongly supports.
He also stressed the importance of the concert of La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra attended by many political officials as well as religious representatives and stressed that this event sends a message of peace and reconciliation.
(Source: Fena)
