Minister Zirojevic met with the Ambassador of Switzerland, André Schaller and the First Secretary Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Norway, Mariam Naqvi

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Mr. Mladen Zirojevic received today in Sarajevo the Ambassador of Switzerland to Bosnia and Herzegovina, André Schaller and the First Secretary Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Norway, Mariam Naqvi. The reason for this meeting were the ongoing negotiations on free trade between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.

During the meeting, Minister and his guests talked about the current  state of negotiations after the third round of negotiations was held in Sarajevo on 20 - 22 September 2011. Both sides agreed that the negotiations are progressing at a satisfactory pace, that the third round of negotiations resulted in significant progress and that there are only few issues left. Most of the text of the agreement has been harmonized, including its annexes and protocols.  Significant progress has also been made in terms of market access for industrial products, fish products, basic and processed agricultural products.

Mr. Zirojevic, Mr. Schaller and Ms Naqvi agreed that the remaining open questions should be solved at an expert level as soon as possible and in a way that would be satisfactory to all. This would allow the Agreement to enter into force as soon as possible and lead to the realization of mutual benefits from it.