 | The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, is currently on his first official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. By way of introduction, he was received with military honours by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Haris Silajdžić. This was followed by a talk between President Türk, Chairman Silajdžić, and the two other members of the Presidency, Mr Željko Komšić and Mr Nebojša Radmanović. The Slovenian President stressed that Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina should cooperate as two sovereign states, advocating that regular meetings be held at the highest level between the two countries. He pointed out that concerted efforts should be undertaken in order for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a candidate country for EU membership in 2010. He added that he expected the visa regime for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be facilitated by 2009. The Slovenian President and the Chairman of the Bosnian Presidency expressed their satisfaction with the progress made on the construction of the Serbian cultural centre and the plans for a mosque in Slovenia. With regard to the issue of payment of foreign currency savings deposited in the former Ljubljanska Banka branch in Sarajevo, Dr Türk drew attention to the importance of the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and stressed that, in accordance with the court’s decision, negotiations within the succession agreement should be pursued as soon as possible.
President Türk then held a meeting with the members of the collegium of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dr Türk said that his visit came at a time when Bosnia and Herzegovina should undertake additional efforts to speed up the negotiations on candidate status for EU membership. In this respect, he highlighted in particular the role of the Parliamentary Assembly during the reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina, given that all the most important decisions are subject to parliamentary procedures. He emphasised that these procedures would be complex, but in this respect Bosnia and Herzegovina could follow the example of the institutions of the European Union – for instance, the European Parliament. The President also attended the Economic Forum organised by the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he addressed representatives of the Bosnian economy. The Slovenian President then visited Potočari, where he laid a wreath at the “Srebrenica – July 1995” memorial and signed the visitors’ book at the Memorial Centre in Potočari. Dr Türk will conclude the first day of his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina by holding a meeting with Slovenes living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as with a former member of the Presidency of the former Yugoslavia, Mr Bogić Bogičević.
In Mostar, on the second day of his official visit, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, met with the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišta, and the Mayor of Mostar, Ljubo Bešlić, and visited the renowned bridge Stari Most and the old city centre of Mostar. In Banja Luka, the President of the Republic met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Nikola Špirić, and the President of the Republic of Srpska, Dr Rajko Kuzmanović. |