Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the NATO PA Attended the Opening Ceremony of the NATO PA Spring Session in Dayton

The Chair of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), Kemal Ademović, along with the Deputy Chairs of the Delegation, Marina Pendeš and Obren Petrović, attended the official opening ceremony of the NATO PA Spring Session, held at the Winsupply Theatre in the Schuster Centre in Dayton.

The opening ceremony began with an address by the NATO PA President, Marcos Perestrello, followed by speeches by prominent officials, including the Head of the United States Delegation to the NATO PA, Michael R. Turner. In his remarks, Congressman Turner recalled that the Spring Session is taking place during the year marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasised that the entire session is dedicated to analysing the legacy of the Agreement and the peace efforts of the United States and NATO partners that led to its conclusion. Opening speeches were also delivered by the Governor of the State of Ohio, Mike DeWine, and the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Chris Landau.

The central part of the ceremony featured a panel discussion titled “Then and Now: Reassessing the Balkans in a Post-Dayton World”, moderated by the President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, Fred Kempe. The panel included distinguished diplomats and experts: former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill, former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, former UK Ambassador to the U.S. and Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Dame Karen Pierce, and retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark.

Following the panel, speeches were delivered by high-level officials from the region and the international community: Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Marko Đurić, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.

The closing remarks were delivered by Congressman Michael R. Turner, and the ceremony in Dayton was concluded by NATO PA President Marcos Perestrello.

Prior to the formal opening of the session, the PABiH Delegation attended a panel as part of the public forum titled “Dayton Dialogue: Conversations on Peace and Security in the Balkans.” The panel, “Dayton 30 Years On: Today’s Challenges on the Path to European and Transatlantic Integration”, was moderated by former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison. The speakers included the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, and former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith. (End)