Bosnia’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic spoke with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers of the Western Balkan countries in Rome.

Minister Konakovic expressed his gratitude for Italian help and support to BiH on its European journey, referring in particular to the importance of the joint visit of Minister Tajani and Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg to BiH last month.

He noted that the implementation of the reform process, above all the fulfilment of 14 key priorities from the Opinion of the European Commission, remains the focus of the work of the BiH Council of Ministers in the coming period. He added that, for the successful continuation of the reform process, it is important to complete the government establishment process at all levels.

Minister Tajani pointed out that Italy wants to improve cooperation with BiH, especially when it comes to the European path. He expressed the hope that BiH will accelerate its path towards the EU, after it was granted the status of a candidate for membership four months ago. He pointed out the importance of strengthening economic relations between the two countries, given that Italy is one of BiH’s most important partners in terms of economic cooperation and foreign trade.