Members of the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee met with the Chairman of Bosnia’s Council of Ministers in Sarajevo on Wednesday to discuss the political and economic situation and the role of the United Kingdom in supporting reforms in the country.

The members, led by the Chair of the Committee, Sarah Champion, previously met with representatives from Bosnia’s House of Representatives and House of Peoples.

Tegeltija pointed out the need for mutual dialogue and agreement between political representatives, and a greater degree of trust as a basic precondition for resolving current problems in the work of state institutions. He stressed that imposed decisions that are detrimental to only one peoples in BiH cannot contribute to reconciliation and cohesion, partnership and understanding in society and among constituent peoples.

Tegeltija was referring to the genocide denial ban imposed by the former High Representative of the international community in BiH, Valentin Inzko, in July last year.

This prompted political leadership in Bosnia’s Serb-majority Republika Srpska (RS) entity to boycott state institutions and the initiative of BiH Presidency member, Milorad Dodik, to withdraw the RS from those institutions.

Tegeltija emphasized the commitment of the Council of Ministers to the European path of BiH, with full respect for the constitutional competencies of all levels of government and respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement.

The UK Committee members will spend the next several days in BiH.