Deputy Minister Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarevic participated in the fifth meeting of the CEFTA Secretariat Steering Committee in Brussels

 

Within Bosnia and Herzegoviona's presidency of the CEFTA 2006 Agrement in 2013, the 5th CEFTA Secretariat Steering Committee meeting was held in Brussels on February 25, 2013, chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s CEFTA presidency priorities for 2013 were presented at the meeting, as well as Republic of Albania’s report for 2012, a report on activities undertaken by the CEFTA Secretariat in the previous reporting period and planned activities for 2013, plus financial statements for the same periods.

The meeting was attended by representatives of all CEFTA 2006 Parties, representatives of donors (the European Commission and the Government of Norway), representatives of the CEFTA 2006 Secretariat and representatives of the RCC (Regional Cooperation Council) in Brussels.

The representatives of the European Commission - DG Enlargement - emphasized the importance of including the SEE 2020 Strategy goals in strategic documents for the National IPA II for the period 2014 -2020, in order for the European Commission to be able to plan funding to support the implementation of these objectives. Goals linked to the CEFTA 2006 agreement and SEE 2020 are related to integrated growth for countries in the region, including: trade liberalization, trade facilitation and investment promotion.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Ms. Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarevic thanked the European Commission and the Government of Norway, and all the other donors for their financial, political and technical support in the implementation of this Agreement. At the end, she said that developing the Strategy 2020 is a particular challenge for the region, and that Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the Chair of the CEFTA and the Chair of the SEE Investment Committee (SEEIC), will have a particularly important role in trade and investment during 2013.