In her announcement that she is running for another term, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic promised to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina that she would continue protecting their interests, adding that “Croats are the guarantee of survival for a European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“The Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain a special issue for me, I promise them that. I will persist in protecting their constituency and equality. Croats are the guarantee of survival for a European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Grabar-Kitarovic said.

Croats are one of the three ‘constituent’ ethnic groups in Bosnia, and as most have dual citizenship, they can vote in neighbouring Croatia.

Bosnian Croat representatives have for years been arguing that they are not equal with the other major ethnic groups, primarily the numerically superior Bosniaks in the country’s mostly Bosniak-Croat shared Federation (FBiH) semi-autonomous entity.

Grabar-Kitarovic said she visited Croats living on nearly all continents.

“I provided strong support for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croat minorities in neighbouring countries and other European countries,” she said.