German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed full support of the Federal Government to the mandate of new High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, the German diplomat who took office earlier this month.

Schmidt met Merkel on Wednesday to discuss current political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the Office of the High Representative (OHR).

“Chancellor Merkel ensured the full support of the Federal Government in the exercise of the important international post of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the OHR said.

According to the same statement, the meeting focused on the reforms needed to advance BiH’s Euro-Atlantic integration process and Schmidt thanked Chancellor Merkel for the strong support of the German Government for his mandate.

On August 2, Schmidt officially took over the duty, replacing Austrian Valentin Inzko who was serving as the international community's High Representative in BiH since March 2009.

The OHR was established in 1995 to oversee the implementation of civilian aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.