ZAGREB, Nov 4 (Hina) - New Bosnia-Herzegovina passports will not be +issued in near future because of considerable technical obstacles, +BH ambassador to Croatia Hasan Muratovic told reporters in Zagreb +on Wednesday.+ This means that
the old passports, bearing lilies, will most likely +be valid until the end of 1999, Muratovic added.+ The old BH passports should have been exchanged by the end of this +year.+ "Some technical problems have occurred during the designing of new +passports and software for the equipment which will be used for +printing and data entering, and this is the reason why the new +passports are still not being issued at BH diplomatic-consular +offices", said Muratovic. + He stressed that the new passports were only being issued in +Republika Srpska, and in Sarajevo, in smaller numbers.+ Commenting on the financing of the BH Federation Army, Muratovic +said that Islamic countries
ZAGREB, Nov 4 (Hina) - New Bosnia-Herzegovina passports will not be
issued in near future because of considerable technical obstacles,
BH ambassador to Croatia Hasan Muratovic told reporters in Zagreb
on Wednesday.
This means that the old passports, bearing lilies, will most likely
be valid until the end of 1999, Muratovic added.
The old BH passports should have been exchanged by the end of this
year.
"Some technical problems have occurred during the designing of new
passports and software for the equipment which will be used for
printing and data entering, and this is the reason why the new
passports are still not being issued at BH diplomatic-consular
offices", said Muratovic.
He stressed that the new passports were only being issued in
Republika Srpska, and in Sarajevo, in smaller numbers.
Commenting on the financing of the BH Federation Army, Muratovic
said that Islamic countries and the United States had given great
financial support for the military training within the "Equip and
Train" programme.
He added that the military assistance had been proportionally
divided between both components of the Federation Army.
"This is one army with two components and single joint command, and
it is being financed from the Federation budget", said Muratovic,
adding that he agreed with the estimation that the army was "one of
the best implemented parts of the Dayton Agreement".
Further military cooperation between Croatia and the Federation
will depend on annexes to the Special Relations Agreement, said the
ambassador.
"So far we have agreed upon three areas of (military) cooperation -
education, equipping and joint production - which are not
controversial and already exist, while the rest will be specified
in an annex on defence cooperation", said Muratovic.
The issue of defence cooperation is a difficult one because of the
army of Republika Srpska, which also has the right to an agreement
on special relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Muratovic concluded.
(hina) it jn/rml