It is my true pleasure today to, on behalf of BiH Presidency, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in my own name, I can welcome, together with other members of the Presidency of BiH, President of the Republic of Croatia Mrs Grabar Kitarović here in Sarajevo.

The Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are two truly friendly states which share a long border, and Bosnia and Herzegovina has had a true friend in Croatia which has always been of assistance.

I believe we had very honest and open meetings today, and I am pleased that the President of the Republic of Croatia chose Bosnia and Herzegovina for her first official visit. This shows the significance Bosnia and Herzegovina has for the Republic of Croatia, but also the significance the Republic of Croatia has for Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are very grateful for a strong support which we have from Croatia on our path towards the European Union and Brussels, as well as a very strong personal support from Mrs Grabar Kitarović which we had also had during her term as a foreign minister, and now when she is the President of Croatia. We are more than grateful for that. We are also grateful for the fact that this last, new European initiative has practically in a way had its roots in the initiatives coming from the Republic of Croatia.

I think we can be optimistic about the period ahead and our successful cooperation in the years to come.

It is my true pleasure to be her host today in Sarajevo.

Thank you.

President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarović:

Good afternoon all.

It is really lovely and very pleasant to be in Sarajevo today.

I thank, before all, BiH Presidency Chairman Mr Ivanić and dear friend Mladen, as well as other Presidency members Mr Izetbegović and Mr Čović for their hospitality today.

As you know, we arrived to Sarajevo today by car, because I wanted to show how close Zagreb and Sarajevo are. The goal of my visit today is to send a message of friendship, good-neighbourly relations, and cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The basis of my relationship towards Bosnia and Herzegovina is the absolute respect of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Equally, the respect of a total constituent and equal status of all three peoples – Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bearing in mind and respecting the rights of citizens who do not belong to none of those three peoples.

I have personally always advocated and will continue to advocate for the European and Euro-Atlantic path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will do all in my power to further, on behalf of the Republic of Croatia as well as personally, continue keep the attention of the international community and the European Union, the USA and NATO to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Naturally, I welcome the British-German initiative which has grown into the European initiative, and which has its roots in the Croatian initiative. I also welcome all activities of High Representative Mogherini and all she does on implementation of that initiative and I can, without hesitation, say that the Republic of Croatia will be at BiH disposal, with its political support on the path towards European and Euro-Atlantic integrations, but likewise, with concrete assistance in regards to institution building reforms and everything else which awaits Bosnia and Herzegovina on that rather long and complicated path.

Therefore, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are and will remain friendly states. We shall continue to talk about all issues, including open questions which were not high on the agenda today, because I wish for this first visit to be the message of friendship and openness to every conversation and every discussion.

I am delighted with the atmosphere I see here, the atmosphere of cooperation between the members of the Presidency, and I really wish for the government to be formed at all levels at soonest, so that the reform path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which I particularly encourage, can be continued. And I repeat one more time; Croatia is available for any kind of assistance.

Croatia is especially interested in economic cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, we plan to discuss the cross-border initiatives which are of equal benefit to both states and all peoples, within the European Union.

Many thanks.