Zagreb – Croatian Parliament Speaker Boris Šprem met with the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdžija, who is undertaking an official visit to the Republic of Croatia.
The Speaker expressed his support for the stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as for the continuation of reforms in the country. He accentuated the importance of implementing comprehensive reforms of the electoral legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina that would enhance the rights of Croats, but highlighted it was in Croatia’s best interest that the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina improved their position in accordance with European values. “Therefore I suggest to establish a Center for Euro-Atlantic integrations in Mostar that would focus on education and knowledge transfer, on informing the citizens about the European Union and NATO and on the issues of building state institutions”, he said.
“Croatia is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s strategic partner and some sort of locomotive. It is very important for us that you have successfully fulfilled all the conditions for the EU membership”, stated Zlatko Lagumdžija, adding that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not want Croatia’s accession to the EU to cause a drift in the two countries’ bilateral relations. “Therefore we must make our best of the year before us. We have many unresolved issues that have been on the agenda for a very long time. It is time we established cooperation that will generate positive energy”, he said.