Saturday, 17 October 2009
The Turkish foreign minister underlined late on Friday the importance of a strong and stable Bosnia-Herzegovna.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that a strong and stable Bosnia-Herzegovina was important for both the Balkans and the global stability.
"Election of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council is a good example of how strong Bosnia-Herzegovina has become and how much it can contribute to global peace," Davutoglu told Bosnian and Turkish reporters after holding talks in Sarajevo.
Davutoglu said he was visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina for three reasons, and enumerated them as bilateral relations, Turkey's assuming the rotating presidency of the Southeast European Cooperation Process, and Bosnia-Herzegovina's undergoing a significant reform process.
The minister said Turkey was eager to further improve bilateral relations, and also wanted to exert many efforts to ensure peace and stability in Southeast Europe and the Balkans during its presidency of the Southeast European Cooperation Process.
Davutoglu underscored importance of Bosnia-Herzegovina's having a strong political structure taking its territorial integrity and political unity under guarantee, and improving its relations with the European Union (EU) and NATO for this country's security and stability.
The Turkish minister said that establishing a political structure that would take the political unity under guarantee, bringing forth a democratic structure in which all ethnic and religious elements would participate, ensuring cultural and ethnic peace, creating an efficient and functional state structure, and establishing relations with NATO and EU would make Bosnia-Herzegovina's unity stronger.
"Turkey supports every effort that takes Bosnia's territorial integrity under guarantee," he said.
Also, Davutoglu said Turkey thought it was early to close the high representation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"Of course, we want the representation to be closed as soon as possible and Bosnia-Herzegovina's people to take over all sovereignty, however it is Bosnia-Herzegovina's people who will decide on this matter and the leaders I have met said it is still early for that," Davutoglu also said.
Davutoglu later delivered a speech in a conference on "Ottoman Heritage and Muslim Societies in Today's Balkans."
