International peace envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed the appointment of the new leadership in Bosnia's Federation entity, which was confirmed on Thursday in both chambers of the entity parliament.

“The Office of the High Representative welcomes the fact that the FBiH Parliament, with overwhelming majority in both houses, appointed the President and two Vice Presidents of the Federation of BiH, making an important step toward full implementation of election results and respect of the will of the voters,” said the statement issued by this institution.

It was also emphassied that a “swift government formation must follow today's vote so that everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina can focus on the implementation of reforms, most notably those focused on rule of law, anti-discrimination, and key EU priorities which are necessary for further advancement of BiH as an EU candidate country along the accession path.”

“Once governments on all levels are formed, the focus of everyone should be on offering young people the opportunity to live in Bosnia and Herzegovina without pressure or being forced to cater to political party interests or nepotism,” the OHR said.

Bosnia's Federation entity gets new leadership for the first time since 2014

It stressed that further effort must be invested into economic development, fight against crime and corruption, and especially the implementation of long-overdue verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights and the BiH Constitutional Court.

“The OHR will closely monitor future developments in line with its mandate,” the statement said.