MEETING WITH MINISTER OF STATE FOR EXTERAL AFFAIRS OF INDIA, Ms. PREENET KAUR

July 13^th, 2012 - Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relation of Bosnia and Herzegovina , Mr. Mirko Sarovic received today a visit from Ms. Preenet Kaur, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs.

On the Indian side, together with Ms. Kaur, the meeting was attended by the Ambassador of India to Hungary, H.E. Gauri Shankar Gupta and representatives of Indian business delegation headed by Mr. T T Ashok.       

On the BiH side, together with Minister Sarovic, the meeting was attended by the President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, Mr. Bruno Bojic and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister Sarovic welcomed Minister Kaur and emphasized the importance of this meeting – the first official visit by a Minister of India to our country, which opens a new chapter in mutual relations.

Minister Sarovic stressed that BiH is in final negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that, in this sense bilateral negotiations with India are ongoing. He also said that there is an open question about the service sector. In this context Minister Sarovic expressed the hope that the Indian side would show understanding of the attitudes of the BiH side.

Minister Kaur highlighted the friendly relations between the people of India and BiH, and stated that the reason for the visit was the establishment of high-level contacts that would lead to further improvements in bilateral relations.

India, being the fifth world economic power, replaces its regional priorities with global ones, and in that sense the Indian side expressed special interest in South East Europe.  When it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indian main areas of interest are ​​public works and energy.

Ambassador Gupta handed over a letter to Minister Sarovic from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy in the Government of India, by which he invites Minister Sarovic to the upcoming "International Seminar on Access to Energy" which takes place at a global ministerial level in October 2012 in New Delhi.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Sarovic welcomed the announcement of the forthcoming opening of the Embassy of India in BiH, which will contribute to further improvement of relations between two friendly countries.