site.btaBulgaria Supports European Path of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria Supports European Path of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sofia, February 3 (BTA) - Meeting with Igor Crnadak, the chief diplomat of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov expressed Bulgaria's support for that country's European path and Euro-Atlantic perspective. Crnadak was on a two-day visit to Bulgaria on February 2-3, the Foreign Ministry said.

The two chief diplomats discussed the friendly relations between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as ways to broaden the areas of bilateral cooperation and deepen dialogue in the economy, culture and tourism.

Mitov welcomed Crnadak's participation in the Second Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), held in Sofia as part of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister said: "We have been working with Bosnia towards the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in European and Euro-Atlantic integration between the two governments in the near future."

The two chief diplomats hold the view that Bosnia and Herzegovina is at a key point in its development in view of the upcoming submission of its application for EU membership.

Igor Crnadak also talked with Parliament Chairperson Tsetska Tsacheva on Wednesday.

They concurred that SEECP is a leading political format of regional cooperation and a regional platform for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the Western Balkans.

Tsacheva noted that in 2015 Bulgaria assumed the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office for the third time, and suggested that the Process concentrate on three priority areas of cooperation: energy and transport connectivity, media freedom and freedom of expression, migration and coping with the migrant influx. "We rely on Bosnia and Herzegovina to support Sofia's bid to become the seat of the Permanent Secretariat of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly," Tsacheva said.

Crnadak said that his country views SEECP as one of the most important regional cooperation initiatives, and that the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office is very successful. During it SEECP has managed to prove that the countries of the region speak in a single voice.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have set EU and NATO membership as a strategic foreign policy goal, said Crnadak, adding that in bilateral relations "we should concentrate on developing economic and trade ties."