Christian Schmidt, the new international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, met on Tuesday Dragan Covic, the leader of the strongest Croat party HDZ BiH, for the first time after he took office earlier this month.

Covic, who did not attend the reception the new High Representative held for politicians and other public figures last week, said they discussed “key steps for political dialogue and progress in BiH.”

“I emphasised the importance of equality & legitimate representation of constituent peoples, the EU and NATO path, as well as eliminating all forms of discrimination,” said Covic, one of the political leaders taking part in ongoing talks on electoral reform which is among other things aimed at eliminating the discrimination in the election process, in line with decisions of domestic and international courts.

The Office of the High Representative also confirmed the meeting, briefly stating that the officials discussed the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Schmidt officially took office on August 2, becoming the international community's High Representative, in charge of overseeing the implementation of peace that was established after the 1992-95 war with the Dayton Peace Agreement.