Former Bosniak member of the presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegovic Monday said the cooperation between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey will continue to improve in the future with new initiatives.
During a visit to the Anadolu Agency (AA) office in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Izetbegovic, who is also the leader of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), said Turkey's economic support has been of utmost help.
"It boosted industrial development while also opening the door for investment in the country," he said. "The Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia Trilateral Summit will take place here and the official commencement of the Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway that is poised to boost the development and welfare of the region," he added.
The Turkey-backed project dubbed the "peace highway," that will link the capitals of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia was brought up more than two years ago, but it hit a snag over its route, with 16 different paths proposed. The Bosnian leader added that he expected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to pay a visit to Serbia soon to discuss these issues.
Pointing out that Erdoğan is on good terms with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Izetbegovic said, "The good relations Erdoğan has established with the Orthodox world have been helpful in overcoming regional conflicts and crisis more easily."
Last month Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu attended the foreign ministers meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in the Bosnian capital. He addressed issues of common interest to the SEECP member countries and stressed enhanced cooperation.
Izetbegovic said Turkey has had deep relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina for a long time in history and that these relation and cooperation will be maintained in the future.
The SEECP was initiated in 1996 with the goal of transforming southeastern Europe into a region of stability, security and cooperation in line with the European integration processes and through the promotion of mutual dialogue and cooperation at all levels and in all areas of common interest.