The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, and the United States (U.S.) Special Envoy, Gabriel Escobar, emphasized the strong Austrian – U.S. commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), prepared for the future, the Embassy of Austria in BiH announced.
The Workshop “Speak Up: Engaging young political leaders and civil society in the Western Balkans. Edition: BiH” was held at the Austrian Europa-Forum Wachau on June 22nd and 23rd, 2023, for the first time in cooperation with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department. The focus of the Workshop, in which representatives from politics, civil society and the diaspora from BiH participated, was the geostrategic necessity to ensure the stability of the Western Balkans and to firmly anchor it within the framework of the Western community of values.
Yesterday, on the second day of the Workshop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, and the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, met with the participants, in order to emphasize the Austrian-U.S. engagement for stronger Euro-Atlantic integration of BiH.
“Exchange between BiH’s population groups and new approaches in cooperation with BiH are more important than ever, in order for this country to be linked to the Western value system in the long term. Russia’s war aggression against Ukraine, as well as the tensions in the immediate neighborhood between Serbia and Kosovo, once again mixed up the geopolitical maps. One thing is clear: together with the U.S., it is worth continuing to listen and work on the Euro-Atlantic future of BiH,” emphasized Minister of Foreign Affairs Schallenberg.
According to Schallenberg, BiH is at a crossroad. The granting of candidate status for membership in the European Union (EU) in December 2022 was an important political signal for the country’s future in the EU family. Now it is necessary to effectively support the necessary reforms through further engagement – Austria and the U.S. agree.
“Austria is a true friend of the Western Balkans. It is very important that the international community includes these generations of leaders from BiH. I am looking forward to a comprehensive dialogue that advances our commitment to the region’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic ambitions,” asserted U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Escobar.
This workshop at the Europa-Forum Wachau represents the beginning of a long-term dialogue. In this way, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department provide support to the young generation of BiH to decisively shape their own future. The BiH diaspora in Austria plays the role of a bridge between the two countries and in this sense has an important role. The goal of the workshop was to elaborate concrete proposals for solutions, perspectives, and recommendations for the European path of BiH.
E.Dz.
