The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković is on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Milkov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced. 

From 10:00 a.m. in the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministers of foreign affairs of the two countries will hold a "four eyes" meeting, after which the plenary talks between the official delegations of the two countries will take place. 

Among the highlights during the meeting of the two ministers will be topical topics from the regional and European agenda, including global security challenges, the situation in the region, Bulgaria's support for the foreign policy priorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as regional cooperation.

As part of the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, meetings with the Head of State Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Galab Donev are planned.

Relations between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria was the first country in the world to recognize the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 15, 1992, along with the Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia, according to information from the "Reference" department of BTA.

A communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed on January 11, 1996 in Vienna, Austria.

An embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria was opened in Sarajevo in March 1996, and an embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been operating in Sofia since November 2005.

Bilateral visits by foreign ministers 

On July 13, 2006, at the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivaylo Kalfin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mladen Ivanić, arrived in Sofia for a two-day official visit.

During the meeting, issues related to the current state of bilateral relations in the fields of economy, culture, consular relations were discussed.

Among the topics of conversation are the cooperation between the two countries in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration and the contractual legal basis between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the two countries in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Mladen Ivanich also had a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly Georgi Pirinski.

On June 23, 2008, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sven Alkalaj, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivajlo Kalfin arrived in Sarajevo on an official visit.

In the conversation between the two ministers, the greatest attention was paid to the economic relations between the two countries on the occasion of the upcoming signing of agreements to avoid double taxation, for river and sea transport and to stimulate investments. 

On August 3, 2017, Deputy Prime Minister for Justice Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva arrived in Sarajevo for a two-day visit.

The visit is a continuation of her Balkan tour, during which she presents the priorities of Bulgaria's upcoming presidency of the EU Council in 2018, the main focus of which is the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

She has meetings with her colleague Igor Cernadak, with Bakir Izetbegović - member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović, as well as with the Minister of Defense Marina Pendes.

Bulgaria is the fourth EU member state to ratify the Agreement on Stabilization and Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the EU.

This took place on March 13, 2009. The Agreement entered into force on June 1, 2015. Trade relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina are developed on the basis of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the two countries, which came into force on May 20, 2015. /Department "Reference"