"I want to stress that the basic precondition for stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political consensus at all levels of government and the true equality of the constituent peoples and citizens. We expect all political factors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure and protect the constitutional position and institutional equality of the Croat people in the country," Kosor said.
She said that she and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic had called for dialogue among the politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering Croatia's assistance in it.
She said that Bosnia was Croatia's most important partner in its neighbourhood, which she said would become particularly important once Croatia joined the EU. She added that Croatia would continue supporting its neighbours on their road to Euro-Atlantic associations.
Trade between the two countries in the first two months of 2011 was 29 percent up from the same period of 2010, she said, calling on Bosnian citizens to spend this year's summer holidays on the Croatian Adriatic coast.
There is room for closer cooperation between Croatia and Bosnia in telecommunications, construction, the pharmaceutical and electronic industries, as well as in aluminium processing, she said.
This year's partner country at the Mostar fair is Italy, whose Education, University and Research Minister Giuseppe Pizza attended the opening ceremony. Pizza said accession to the EU was the key to all problems in Southeast Europe, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressing that Italy strongly supported Croatia's becoming the EU's 28th member soon.
Accompanied by several Croatian government ministers and her host, Bosnian Deputy Prime Minister Dragan Vrankic, Kosor visited a few Croatian pavilions at the fair.
She also attended the signing of a contract between Croatia's Koncar company and the local power supplier Elektroprivreda Hrvatske zajednice Herceg-Bosne on the revamping of the Rama hydroelectric power plant, worth EUR 17.4 million.
She also met with the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Dragan Covic, and the leader of the HDZ 1990 party, Bozo Ljubic.