SARAJEVO, June 17 (Hina) - Progress has been made in the ties between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it is still slow in relation to the clearly expressed political will of the two countries to improve them, the Bosnian
Presidency Chairman, Beriz Belkic, told reporters on Monday.
SARAJEVO, June 17 (Hina) - Progress has been made in the ties
between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it is still slow in
relation to the clearly expressed political will of the two
countries to improve them, the Bosnian Presidency Chairman, Beriz
Belkic, told reporters on Monday. #L#
Belkic presented the results of a meeting which the Inter-State
Cooperation Council held in Sarajevo on Monday.
The Croatian delegation was led by President Stjepan Mesic, and the
Bosnian by the three-man Presidency.
Three new bilateral agreements were signed on this occasion as
well.
The most important agreement, signed by Croatian Interior Minister
Sime Lucin and Bosnia's Minister of Civilian Affairs and
Communications, Svetozar Mihajlovic, refers to the joint fight
against terrorism, organised crime, and drug trafficking.
The other two agreements concern joint border crossing locations
and legal aid in civil actions and criminal proceedings.
Croatian and Bosnian officials discussed all the important open
issues such as the status of the southern Croatian port of Ploce,
dual citizenship, property-rights relations, and the border
crossing of Kostajnica.
"We have not defined any concrete deadlines for the settlement of
these issues, but we expect competent ministries to start working
on them immediately," President Mesic said.
He said the Inter-State Council regularly analysed developments in
the bilateral relations.
Mesic reiterated that Zagreb would do its part of the job in the best
possible way regarding a contract on dual citizenship.
We want to protect the interests of both individuals and the state,
Croatian President added.
In this context he reminded that both countries were interested in
settling the problem and that Bosnian Croats could be a bridge
between the two countries.
Croatia and Bosnia have the great need and potential for economic
cooperation and joint venture in third countries, he said.
Both Mesic and Belkic confirmed that Monday's meeting was in
particular focused on bids to counter terrorism in the region.
The two countries agree that terrorism is a problem which the entire
Europe should address and that the degree of the terrorist threat in
Croatia and Bosnia is not higher than in other European countries.
Commenting on a recent proposal by the international High
Representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, for a joint visit of
Croatian and Yugoslav Presidents to Sarajevo, Mesic said he would
consider this initiative as a possible contribution to the
stabilisation of the region.
Mesic will meet Ashdown on Tuesday.
(hina) ms