Bosnia-Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic visited Türkiye and held a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Wednesday. He was the latest top diplomat to visit the country in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes and extended his condolences to the nation. Konakovic was later scheduled to meet search and rescue teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the southern province of Hatay.
Speaking at the press conference, Çavuşoğlu praised the Bosnia-Herzegovina people for their aid to Türkiye, citing a 12-year-old boy selling tea on the street to collect donations for Türkiye.
Meanwhile, Konakovic extended condolences to the Turkish public. “Our primary goal was to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and to discuss our bilateral relations. We had to change our plans,” he said.
“I want to underline how strongly we stand with Türkiye. In 2014, we experienced major floods that claimed many lives. The first teams to arrive were from Türkiye and they gave us support,” he recalled. “The aid collected in Bosnia-Herzegovina is immense for Türkiye,” he said, referring to an aid campaign for earthquake victims in Türkiye. The minister said Bosnia and Herzegovina did not have a major economy but they were always ready to support Türkiye.
Minister Çavuşoğlu said at the press conference that teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina rescued 26 people from under the rubble in the earthquake zone and praised their assistance, as well as delivery of tents from the Balkan country to Türkiye for survivors. He noted that some 30 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to Türkiye after campaigns by the Islamic Union, Red Cross, municipalities and other organizations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "We see great compassion. We saw Benjamin Mehanovic, a 12-year-old brother of ours, selling tea on Sarajevo's streets to collect aid money for Türkiye. I am grateful to him. I am also grateful to the elderly Bosnian grandmother who gave the money she saved for hard times to aid volunteers at a mosque," he said. The minister said it was the first time he met in person with his Bosnia-Herzegovina counterpart since the latter's appointment and said they would work to improve relations between the two countries. "We attach importance to peace, welfare and the stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina and strongly support its territorial integrity and sovereignty," he said. He also said Türkiye was pleased to see Bosnia-Herzegovina's process for European Union membership.
