CONFERENCE ON CONFIDENCE STRENGTHENING IN BOSNIA OPENS IN VIENNA

( Editorial: --> 2383 ) VIENNA, Feb 16 (Hina) - A conference on the implementation of the Agreement on Confidence Strengthening and Security Measures in Bosnia-Herzegovina opened in Vienna on Monday. The Agreement, signed in January 1996 in Vienna, is the first document on Bosnia-Herzegovina to be signed after the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Vienna agreement envisages the holding of a review conference two years after its signing, so that it could be reviewed what had been done and so that new tasks could be agreed upon. The conference which opened in Vienna today is the first review conference and it is held under the sponsorship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Participating in the conference are representatives of Bosnia- Herzegovina and its entities: the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, Poland - which is chairing the OSCE this year, and numerous military experts from Contact group countries. The conference is being chaired by Italian general Carl Jean and will last until 20 February. (hina) jn rm 162128 MET feb 98