Dacic opens Serbia's first honorary consulate in Bosnia and Herzegovina

PALE - At a ceremony attended by Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina officials, Serbian FM Ivica Dacic on Friday opened a honorary consulate of the Republic of Serbia at Pale, East Sarajevo.

The honorary consulate will focus on further development of cooperation in the economy, culture and sports.

Dacic noted that Serbia was devoting great attention to advancement of regional cooperation and to cherishing the best possible good-neighbourly relations, regional stability and development of comprehensive cooperation with its closest neighbours, and added that this was a priority of Belgrade's foreign policy.

"We see Bosnia and Herzegovina as a close and natural partner of ours with which we want to work on greater mutual understanding, respect and building full trust and cooperation. That is why stability and prosperity are important to us," Dacic said.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia has an embassy in Sarajevo, consulates-general in Banjaluka and Mostar, consular offices in Trebinje and Drvar and now also a first honorary consulate at Pale, Dacic said.

"We plan to open a consulate-general in Bijeljina next year," Dacic said, adding that Serbia wanted to have the greatest possible presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was open to requests of similar nature from Sarajevo as that was a way to boost relations.

Honorary Consul Dejan Ljevnaic, who is also director of the Jahorina Olympic Centre, noted that the honorary consulate would be a place "connecting our peoples and contributing to peace and stability and prosperity in the region."

He said he would devote his attention to boosting ties through cooperation in culture and education and to connecting young people in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.