Member of the PA BiH Delegation to the IPU, Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević, addressed the IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs in Tashkent

Member of the PA BiH Delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević, who is participating in the 150th IPU Assembly in Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan), addressed the panel discussion on the topic "The Growing Role of BRICS in International Relations: What Impact for the United Nations (UN)?"

In her address, delivered during the session of the IPU Standing Committee on United Nations Affairs, MP Salkičević-Dizdarević placed particular emphasis on the question of how BRICS could contribute to the further development of the Western Balkans, noting that during the 16th BRICS Summit held in Russia, we witnessed, as she put it, a demonstration of power by this emerging bloc, which has deeply shaken the global multilateral order.

She especially underlined the historical and natural orientation of the Western Balkans towards the European Union (EU), i.e., full EU membership, pointing out that the approach of the West, including the United States, towards the region has at times shifted. This, she assessed, has prompted certain BRICS members, particularly Russia and China, to pursue greater influence in the region – a trend that, in her view, is already evident in Serbia, being attempted in Montenegro, and increasingly visible in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Influence in itself is not necessarily negative, she noted, as long as it is based on economic rather than political considerations.

According to her, we are witnessing that BRICS is increasingly oriented as a platform for political rather than economic engagement, which, she stated, may be both challenging and even dangerous for Western Balkan countries, where such influence is often misused by irresponsible political actors. (End)