5 November 2010

H.E. Mr. Sven Alkalaj,MFA of BiH met in New York with the UN Secretary General, the President of UN General Assembly and Permanent Representatives of the U.S and Republic of Turkey to the UN

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Sven Alkalaj, met in New York, within his working visit, with the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the President of the UN General Assembly Mr. Joseph Deiss, the Permanent Representatives of the United States at the UN, Ambassador Susan E. Rice and the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the UN, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan.

Minister Alkalaj and his counterparts discussed the current political situation in BiH, especially in light of the recent general elections and BiH Euro-Atlantic integration process. The talks were focused on BiH's membership in the UN Security Council - especially on the upcoming BiH's chairmanship of the Security Council, and also on the exchange of views on topics of special importance, which are expected to be on the Security Council's agenda in January. During the talks, Minister Alkalaj said that Bosnia and Herzegovina's chairmanship of the Security Council is a great honor, and at the same time a great responsibility, and stressed that BiH is preparing seriously for this important duty it will perform in January next year.

The Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was interested in the current political and economic situation in BiH, as well as the situation in the region. The central theme of discussion was the upcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina' chairmanship of the Security Council and the preparations for it, and expected developments in the world in the upcoming months, especially events that are expected to occur during January – such as the referendum in Sudan, which will be one of the themes of the Security Council' session. The Secretary General Ki-moon said that he expects a successful cooperation with BiH during its chairmanship of the Security Council.

The President of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Deiss, expressed his belief that, with respect to topics that are on the agenda of the General Assembly and Security Council, and the importance of cooperation of these relevant UN bodies regarding those topics and the common practice of holding regular meetings between Chairmen of the General Assembly and Security Council, the cooperation with the BiH during its chairmanship of the Security Council is going to be successful. Minister Alkalaj and the President of the UN General Assembly Mr. Deiss also discussed a very constructive role of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UN Alliance of Civilizations. In this regard, the importance of holding the First Regional Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations in Southeast Europe in Sarajevo, in December last year was especially emphasized, as well as the importance of the adoption of the Sarajevo Declaration, which paved the way for organizing similar regional meetings of the Alliance of Civilizations in the world.

Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Ms. Rice, has expressed her satisfaction with the previous cooperation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States in the Security Council, and stressed the readiness of the Permanent Mission of the United States to support the Permanent Mission of BiH in the transfer of knowledge and experiences about the chairmanship of the Security Council, especially given the fact that the U.S. will chair the Security Council during the next month. They exchanged views on major topics that will be discussed at the Security Council in November, especially on the situation in Sudan, as well as topics that should be considered in the Security Council next month, during the chairmanship of the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Permanent Representative of Turkey to the UN, Mr. Apakan, also expressed his satisfaction with cooperation between BiH and Turkey in the Security Council. Given that Turkey has chaired the Security Council in September this year, they exchanged views and information with respect to the chairmanship of this important UN body. Ambassador Apakan stressed that the Permanent Mission of BiH to the UN can continue to count on the support of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Turkey, in the transfer of knowledge and experience.