On October 5th, 2009, Chief of the Diplomatic Protocol Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragana Tadic received newly-appointed Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina Tomas Szunyog.

On this occasion, Ambassador Szunyog presented a copy of his credentials.

Ms. Tadic welcomed the Ambassador and thanked him for the support extended to our country by the Czech Republic. She also informed him about the current political situation in BiH and its progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration, emphasizing that BiH’s main goals are EU and NATO membership and that BiH submitted an application for NATO’s Membership Action Plan.

Both officials stated that the overall bilateral relations between the two countries are very good and expressed the belief that they will continue developing in the spirit of friendship and mutual understanding. They also agreed that economic cooperation needs to be improved as well as tourism, for which our country has great potential.

Ambassador Szunyog said that he will continue to develop good relations between BiH and the Czech Republic during his tour of duty, adding that BiH needs to work on reforms and fulfilling the conditions necessary for our country to become a part of the European institutions as soon as possible. In connection to this, he stated that the Czech Republic is willing to extend expert and technical assistance to our country on its path to the EU and NATO, considering that the Czech Republic is one of the most successful EU countries in terms of political and economic transition. Ambassador Szunyog informed Diplomatic Protocol Chief Tadic that the Czech Republic is the partner of this year international “ZEPS” trade fair and that many Czech companies will take part in this event.