Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Šarović participated in the High-Level Segment of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, held in Geneva on 9-10 May 2013.
During a roundtable discussion of the Eastern European Group, Minister Šarović said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory country of all three Conventions and that it is currently in the process of adequately preparing efficient structure for the implementation of its obligation arising from the Basel Convention. He also said that the Plant Health Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been established through the implementation of the obligations arising from the Rotterdam Convention, and that the obligations under the Stockholm Convention are being implemented through IPA projects.
Minister Šarović confirmed that Bosnia and Herzegovina supports a synergistic approach to the implementation of the three conventions, and stressed the importance of regional, international and global cooperation.
At the plenary session of the conference, on the second day the High-Level Segment, ministers in charge of environmental protection adopted a "Geneva Declaration" on the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes. The "Geneva Declaration" welcomes the Rio+20 outcome document , especially the part related to the management of chemical and hazardous waste and confirms commitment to achieve the "Millennium Development Goals" by 2015, and positively assesses results of joint ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the three conventions and recalls that the aim of improving cooperation and coordination between them contribute to achieving the common goal of the three conventions - protection of human health and the environment.
