Members of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in NATO PA participated in 63rd Annual Session of NATO Parliamentary Assembly

The Chairman of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) in the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO (PANATO), Nikola Lovrinović, and a Member of the Delegation, Asim Sarajlić, participated at the 63rd Annual Session of NATO PA, which was held in Bucharest during last three days.

During the session, a number of global issues and challenges were discussed, such as the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, the humanitarian aspects of the war in Syria and Iraq, the security situation in Afghanistan, the situation in the Black Sea region and the threat coming from North Korea's nuclear program.

Discussions held in Bucharest also included topics related to cooperation between NATO and the European Union after the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the situation in the field of military industry of NATO allies, the status of the ballistic missile defence, and NATO's relations with Russia.

The highest officials from the legislative and executive authorities of Romania, NATO PA President, Paolo Ali, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the participants at the plenary session. Prior to plenary session, NATO PA Committee on Economy and Security held a session, where members discussed reforms and economic transition of the Western Balkan countries, as well as the structural political and economic weaknesses of the region, the influence of Russia and other external factors, as well as problems in the region related to the migrant crisis.

Richard Benyon, the Rapporteur from the Great Britain, addressed the Members, whose report stated that the process of transition in the Western Balkans countries is relatively slow and under aggravated circumstances. According to this report, the countries of the region are still burdened with the problems of political instability, inadequate governance and widespread corruption. According to Benyon, monitoring of the situation must be continued in terms of the departure of fighters from the Western Balkan countries to the foreign battlefields, as well as the danger related to their return to the countries of the region.

In discussion related to this report, the participants also recalled the findings of the Rose-Roth Seminar, held in Sarajevo at the end of March this year, in which leaders of the Western Balkans countries were urged to continue with the dialogue and to make additional efforts to overcome existing problems and disagreements.

The commitment of the Great Britain was expressed during the meeting of Members of the PABiH Delegation with Mr. Benyon, to continue helping Bosnia and Herzegovina with the consolidation of the internal political and economic situation and acceleration of our country’s Euro-Atlantic integration process. (End)