It is necessary to relax relations and enhance the cooperation in the region, Denis Zvizdic, Bosnia's prime minister, said on Wednesday following a panel discussion on the Western Balkans within the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) annual meeting in Sarajevo.

“We need regional cooperation for the sake of European and economic future of our citizens,” said Zvizdic, head of Bosnia's state government, formally known as the Council of Ministers.

Commenting on the absence of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci in the event, Zvizdic said he was not familiar with the reasons why the Pristina official has not arrived in Sarajevo.

As for Aleksandar Vucic, the President of Serbia, Zvizdic explained it was the initial plan to have all heads of states in the meeting but later on it changed to a summit of prime ministers.

“Head of Serbian Government Ana Brnabic was here. I think a while ago when we started preparing the conference, it was planned to invite presidents but then it changed to prime ministers,” he added.

“We must relax the relations, increase the degree of cooperation, trust and start processes of reconciliation more seriously. We need regional cooperation for the sake of European and economic future of our citizens,” said Zvizdic following the panel discussion on the region of Western Balkans.

“We will continue working to remove all barriers on turning the Western Balkans into a single economic area and then integrating it into a single economic area of the European Union,” he added.