Offering Bosnia and Herzegovina prospects for EU and NATO membership is necessary for the whole region and is an important priority for Bulgaria. By supporting the Western Balkan countries on their road to European integration, we will contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the whole Balkan peninsula and will receive more guarantees for our common security. This is what Head of State Rumen Radev said, who held talks with Mladen Ivanic, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 2 Dondukov street.
Rumen Radev and Mladen Ivanic discussed the challenges facing the Western Balkan region and voiced their support for future common initiatives and speeding up the economic growth and reducing youth unemployment. Improving the infrastructure connectivity between the countries is of extreme importance for the European prospects in the region. It was highlighted that the infrastructure projects should be developed not only along the north-south axis, but also from east to west.
The talks focused on the measures for preventing political instability, ethnic tension, radicalization and extremism, such as strengthening the dialogue in the security sphere and the active exchange of information between the security services in the two countries.
Rumen Radev confirmed Bulgaria’s readiness to support Sarajevo in the process of acquiring the status of a candidate EU member and more specifically during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018 when the EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans will be a priority topic for our country. “The most efficient approach to coping with the common challenges is integration on all levels – global, regional and the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the President said.
The Head of State and his guest voiced their readiness to actively participate in the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and to implement efficient policies for the development of the region within this format. Rumen Radev and Mladen Ivanic highlighted the great potential for increasing the trade between the two countries, which was worth 232 million leva in 2016 and also for strengthening the partnership in the sphere of culture and mobility in education.
“The cooperation between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the best examples for a constructive dialogue and friendship in the Balkans. We treat Bulgaria as a country close to us, which understands our mentality and has made an enormous contribution to stabilizing our country,” Mladen Ivanic said after the meeting. He said that the road to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration has no alternative and the future EU membership is a uniting goal of his country.
The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina invited President Radev to visit Sarajevo, as a continuation of the active and constructive bilateral dialogue.