Japan-Bosnia and Herzegovina Relations
Meeting between Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA and H.E. Ms. Borjana KRIŠTO, Chairwoman of Counril of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
July 18, 2024
On July 18, commencing at 5:10 p.m. local time (On 19 July 0:10 a.m. JST) for approximately 30 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan held a meeting with H.E. Ms. Borjana KRIŠTO, Chairwoman of Counril of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina during her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, Ms. Krišto, the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, welcomed Minister Kamikawa's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also expressed her gratitude for Japan's support to date and stated her evaluation on Japanese companies’ presence in the country. In response, Minister Kamikawa expressed her pleasure of meeting with Ms. Krišto, the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, with whom Minister Kamikawa serves as Women Political Leaders (WPL) Country Ambassador, and expressed her wish to work closely with Ms. Krišto to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law. After explaining the background to the ‘Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative’, Minister Kamikawa then stated that for the strong development of the Western Balkans, it is important to promote cooperation among countries in the region and to integrate the region into Europe. She also mentioned Japan contributes to the stability and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a member of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), referring to the various assistance Japan has provided to date.
- Ms. Krišto explained the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its efforts towards EU accession including the decision on launching the negotiation on EU accession in March this year. In response, Minister Kamikawa pointed out the importance of stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the face of separatist movements and expressed her hope that all parties would unite to build the nation. Minister Kamikawa also stated that she highly evaluates Bosnia and Herzegovina's vigorous efforts towards accession to EU, and that Japan would like to cooperate with Bosnia and Herzegovina.