On Friday 26 and Saturday 27 September, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Radmila Shekerinska visited Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) where she engaged in high-level meetings and participated in the Sarajevo Security Conference.
Amongst other engagements, the Deputy Secretary General met with representatives of the BiH Presidency to discuss the current situation in the country. She restated NATO's commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order and state-level institutions. Ms Shekerinska also underscored NATO's support to the EU-led Operation Althea, reiterating that a security vacuum in Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be allowed to emerge.
The Deputy Secretary General went on to meet members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Joint Commission for Defence and Security as well as its delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Ms Shekerinska also held bilateral talks with EUFOR Commander, Major General Florin-Marian Barbu, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt and Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Josip Brkic. Additionally, she spent time with students taking part in a NAC simulation exercise, hosted by NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT) ahead of a keynote speech at the opening of the Sarajevo Security Conference.
"The security and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina matters to this entire region. It matters to Europe and it certainly matters greatly to NATO too" Ms Shekerinska said. "While war defined this country's - and this region's - past, it does not define its present and it should not determine its future" she continued, affirming that "a future of peace, prosperity and economic growth - that's what this country deserves."
