Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the newly appointed Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Belgrade, Aleksandar Vranjes, that BiH’s membership in the Open Balkan initiative would contribute to its inclusivity and to the economic betterment of all the people in the region.

Brnabic welcomed the new ambassador and wished him a successful term in office, assessing that “there is a lot of room for further improvement of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of economy,” said a Serbian Government press release.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of joint infrastructure projects, especially of the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo motorway, it added.

The meeting comes days after the ambassador's meeting with Chief of Serbia's top security agency Aleksandar Vulin and expressing his support to Vulin after he was sanctioned by US administration “corrupt dealing which facilitate Russian malign activities in Serbia and the region”.

Vranjes also thanked Vulin for offering scholarships to two now former students of Sarajevo University, who glorified war criminals on social networks on the day of the commemoration for Srebrenica victims, sparking reactions and eventually being expelled from university for breaching the rules.

Bosniak and Croat members of BiH Presidency Denis Becirovic and Zeljko Komsic then asked the Foreign Ministry to summon the ambassador for urgent consultations, but he responded by saying that he talked to the Serb Presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic, who told him this was not an official decision of the Presidency and that he got her support for his work.