The inaugural session of Bosnia’s Commission for Cooperation with NATO, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josip Brkic was held Wednesday, during which he Brkic said that transparency the basis of the work of this body.

“The basis of the work will be transparency when the document is adopted and forwarded to the Council of Ministers – it should be available to the public. Institutions working in the NATO Cooperation Commission will also be included. Transparency is what will guide us,” said Brkic stated after the session.

He added that they do not expect blockades in their work and that there are provisions that a member from each of the constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina must have a vote.

The Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, General Eric Folkestad, stated that this Commission will be the one to decide which areas of cooperation between BiH and NATO will be pursued and that all 30 NATO partners will help.

“Partners are the ones who decide what the relationship will be like. NATO's doors remain open for BiH, and only BiH can decide whether to enter,” Folkestad said.

“It’s important that NATO and BiH have relations because no country alone can confront today's security challenges, pandemic, the migrant crisis, natural disasters and organized crime. Together, we are stronger,” the General stressed.

The NATO Contact Embassy for BiH said that the experiences from BiH will be transferred to NATO headquarters in Brussels and that it is important to see what BiH needs to do when it comes to the cooperation with NATO.