Georgian, Bosnian Foreign Ministers Meet, Sign Cooperation Memorandum
Mikheil Janelidze and Igor Crnadak, March 5, 2018. Photo: MFA Georgia
Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, who is on his first ever official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, held a meeting with his counterpart Igor Crnadak on March 5, and signed a bilateral cooperation memorandum that envisions closer partnership between the two ministries.
According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the memorandum “underlines the fundamental principles of international law – sovereignty and territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and non-interference in the internal affairs of the two countries.”
Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Mikheil Janelidze said the visit was “a continuation of our high-level exchanges.” “We are happy that we are moving forward with the establishment of a new legal framework between our countries: the signing of the memorandum will create new opportunities for our bilateral cooperation,” Janelidze noted.
The signed Memorandum of Cooperation between Foreign Ministries #Georgia and #BosniaHerzegovina will create new avenues for our cooperation based on international principles, common values, aspirations and mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity pic.twitter.com/5YAx3GE0Hp
— Mikheil Janelidze (@JanelidzeMkh) March 5, 2018
On March 5, Janelidze was also received by Bakir Izetbegovic, member of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Bosnian official expressing the country’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
From Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mikheil Janelidze will travel to Belgrade, where he is scheduled to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic.
FM Janelidze’s visit comes two months after the Russian-backed Tskhinvali leader Anatoly Bibilov made a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska and met with the local leader Milorad Dodik, causing a diplomatic protest from Georgia and the subsequent denouncement by the Bosnian government.
