The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH spoke with the delegation of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria and the Parliament of the Austrian province Carinthia

The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples, Kemal Ademović, spoke today in Sarajevo with the delegation of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria and the Parliament of the Austrian province Carinthia, led by the President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria, Claudia Arpa.

During the meeting, in which, on behalf of the members of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, delegates to the House of Peoples Sredoje Nović and Zdenko Ćosić, and representatives of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mia Karamehić - Abazović and Predrag Kožul participated, it was stated that relations between BiH and the Republic of Austria are at an exceptionally high level, which results in very significant foreign trade exchange and economic co-operation between the two friendly countries.

The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH expressed its gratitude to the colleagues from Austria for the strong support to the process of European integration of our country, as well as the decision of the European institutions to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of candidate for membership in the European Union (EU). In this context, the role of Austrian parliamentarians and of the Austrian Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, was particularly noted.

The Austrian high-level guests were also briefed on the current political situation in BiH, in particular on the efforts of the BiH institutions to accelerate the European path, to meet the priorities set out in the Opinion of the European Commission and to open EU membership negotiations by the end of this year. Members of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH assessed that the adoption of the package of reform and European laws had made significant progress on BiH's European path and expressed confidence that this trend would continue in the coming months. They underlined the importance of supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina in all EU institutions and asked that friendly Austria continue its strong support for BiH's European path.

Highlighting the fact that all major political parties in the Austrian Parliament support BiH's EU membership, the high-ranking guests from the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria said that they would continue to strongly support BiH's European path in all ways possible.

Possibilities were also discussed at the meeting for further enhancement of economic co-operation, as well as co-operation in the fields of education, scientific and technological exchanges and culture.

It was emphasized that Austria is one of the largest investors in our country, especially in the banking sector, the manufacturing sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. The interlocutors also welcomed the fact that BiH has a surplus in foreign trade with Austria and stressed the need to further enhance economic co-operation between the two countries. It was also pointed out the need to renew the agreement between the two countries in the field of education, with the aim of giving as many students from BiH as possible the opportunity to study in Austria under favourable conditions. The importance of the diaspora in Austria was also highlighted, as was the effort to involve the diaspora more significantly in the development of relations between the two friendly countries.

There was also talk of continuing good interparliamentary co-operation. In this regard, the President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria invited the members of the Collegiums of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to visit the Parliament of Austria by the end of this year. (End)