Members of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the NATO PA met with a delegation of US Congress

Beside Mr. Turner, Loretta Sanchez and Linda Sanchez, members of the Delegation and the US Congress were present at the meeting, as well as the Secretary General of the NATO PA David Hobbs, the chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy in BiH, Paul Horowitz, and their associates. The main topic of the meeting was the process of our country's progress in the framework of Euro-Atlantic integration.
Chairman Lovrinović said that the US delegation visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in a time when our country symbolically marks the twentieth anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which has principally brought peace to citizens. He said that the role of USA in the establishment of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the process of reconstruction and reconciliation, and establishment of institutions of government in our country is extremely important. Lovrinović recalled the invaluable contribution of the United States in the process of defence and security reforms, the establishment of a single Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as law enforcement agencies and intelligence sector. According to him, it was that single, professional and well-trained Armed Forces of BiH that have proved a reliable partner to the coalition forces in Iraq, in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and the EU and UN peacekeeping missions around the world. He stressed that BiH through the implementation of the Partnership for Peace proved to be a credible partner, and it noted that further activation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP) of NATO for Bosnia and Herzegovina sent a strong message about our previous efforts made on this road.

Member of PA B&H Delegation in NATO PA, Asim Sarajlić, pointed out that there is no doubt whether the future of our country in the EU or NATO, when both of these integration show our clear commitment. He stressed that the start of the implementation of MAP would further stabilize the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would bring back investors to our country, which would still further advance the BiH economy. Sarajlić pointed out to the need for amendment of legislation in a number of areas of strategic documents, such as the BiH Security Policy, Defence Review and Strategy Mine Action. Emphasizing the importance of the participation of the Government of the United States and the EU on the project of solving surplus weapons, he said that our country has about 16 000 tons of obsolete ammunition and explosives in its military warehouses, which represents growing threat for the environment in which these warehouses are located.

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO, Mike Turner, said he was particularly pleased for the fact that he is actually from Dayton, a place where, 20 years ago, lasting peace was established in our country. Otherwise, the US Congress Delegation expressed particular interest in solving the issue of perspective and non-perspective military property and the issue of our country's progress towards EU and NATO integration. They also talked about the process of economic investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (End)