OSCE Chairman-in-Office/Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic paid a two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On the first day of his visit, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dacic met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic, members of the Presidency and Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dacic congratulated Zvizdic on being elected Chairman of the Council of Ministers and pointed out that good relations with BiH were extremely important for Serbia.

The Serbian Foreign Minister reiterated that he was committed to the rapid EU accession of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and that in the coming period he would work on strengthening regional cooperation through regional projects.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zvizdic briefed Dacic on the current political situation in BiH. He particularly referred to the attack on the police station in Zvornik, and stressed that BiH was resolute in combating terrorism.

The interlocutors agreed that it was necessary to strengthen the stability of both countries and to improve the quality of security intelligence exchange at the regional level. Zvizdic expressed his satisfaction with the fact that one of the neighbours of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Serbia, was chairing the OSCE in 2015 and that BiH supported the priorities of Serbia’s Chairmanship.

He announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina would take over the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe on 19 May 2015 and invited the Serbian Foreign Minister to the ceremony in Brussels.

The Serbian Foreign Minister also met with his Bosnian counterpart Crnadak. The Ministers agreed that the bilateral relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were at a very high level and that Serbia was interested in the stability and progress of BiH.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dacic expressed condolences to Crnadak, as well as to the family of the police officer killed in a terrorist attack on the police station in Zvornik. 

“Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are members of the coalition to combat Islamic extremism. In general, in this regard, since both countries have changed their legislation, any involvement of these so-called foreign fighters from our countries on other fronts constitutes a criminal offence. This terrorist act is an indication that regardless of the fact that many of these people are fighting far from the countries of our region this phenomenon will be felt in the region. Therefore, we must devote considerable attention to it, and we will fight terrorism together”, Dacic said.

Yesterday, Minister Dacic also met with members of the BiH Presidency, Dragan Covic and Bakir Izetbegovic who informed him about the current situation in BiH, the process of forming the government and domestic and foreign policy priorities of BiH.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office will meet today with Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Jonathan Moore and hold a meeting with the staff.

Also, Dacic will open the OSCE Office in Drvar and will visit the OSCE Office in Banja Luka.