Minister Jandroković extended his thanks to his Turkish colleague Davutoğlu for organising the trilateral meeting, and for successful chairmanship of the Republic of Turkey over the SEECP in the last period. The parties agreed that relations between the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are of strategic importance for whole South East Europe. In that respect, they described their meeting as confirmation of good cooperation between the three countries whose goal is to accomplish prosperity in the region and to provide assistance and support to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In order for the trilateral cooperation to grow in strength in the future, Minister Jandroković suggested that a Working Group be organised headed by State Secretaries and Political Directors who would discuss proposals for common projects. With a view to improving mutual economic cooperation, Minister Jandroković also suggested the organising of an Economic Forum of the three countries hosted by Croatia. Ministers Alkalaj and Davutoğlu expressed their support for both these initiatives.

Minister Jandroković said that the Republiic of Croatia, as a country who has made the furthest progress in the process of Euroatlantic integrations, lends strong support to its neighbours on that road. He also added that the ministerial meeting on South East Europe held in Sarajevo at the beginning of the month, confirmed the commitment of the European Union and international community concerning the EU membership of all countries in the region. The progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a strategic interest of the Republic of Croatia, and Croatia and Turkey also share common interests and good will to help Bosnia and Herzegovina in strengthening the safety situation which is a prerequisite for a stable South East Europe, said Minister Jandroković. On this occasion he greeted the Recommendation of the European Commission on abolishing the visa regime for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The parties also referred to the common meeting of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina held the day before. During the meeting good neighbourly and intensive bilateral relations were confirmed, and agreement in the fields of cross-border cooperation, construction of roads, justice and economy were reached. Special emphasis was placed on Croatia's technical support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of Euroatlantic integrations, where experts of the countries had already initiated cooperation concerning the transfer of knowledge and experiences from Croatian accession process.

Minister Alkalaj thanked for the support offered by Croatia and Turkey to Bosnia and Herzegovina in its efforts to enter the European Union and NATO. He assessed the role of the Republic of Croatia in stabilising the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the whole region, as very important, adding that its assistance to Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina is yet another step towards that goal.

Minister Davutoğlu supported the holding of, already traditional, trilateral meetings of Ministers of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey, the next one being set for the end of the summer in Sarajevo. He also expressed his hope that the cooperation between the three countries would grow in strength in all areas of common interest.

Some other topics also discussed in the meeting were the common trilateral projects in the city of Mostar, primarily those related to adaptation of the Music School and the City Hall, and the developing of touristic potentials of that city.

Minister Jandroković also said that there is a possibility that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan or Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu will attend the forthcoming Croatia Summit.



Press releases