The people of Bosnia-Herzegovina are pleased with the upcoming official visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Balkan country, believing that this visit will bring peace to the region.
Sarajevo residents shared their views on President Erdoğan's visit to their country with Anadolu Agency (AA).
Izet Medzedovic expressed his happiness at the visit of Erdoğan and the accompanying business people to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday.
"Of course, I am happy with his visit and it is an important occasion. Erdoğan is respected in all countries in the region," he said.
Amar Karadzic also stated that he thinks that good relations with Türkiye can solve problems and ensure cooperation between the countries of the region.
"Erdoğan is a very important person and his visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and other countries in the region is very important in terms of economy and peace," he said.
Salahudin Nezirovic said that he thinks President Erdoğan's visit is important for both Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region.
"We need to think carefully about who is our friend and who is not. Everyone pretends to be our friend, but they are not really our friends. Erdoğan is our true friend," Nezirovic said.
Sarajevo's Husnija Kararic also noted that President Erdoğan is a "true friend" of his country and thinks his visit will be helpful in solving many problems in the Balkans.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidential Council head Sefik Dzaferovic on Sunday drew attention to the importance of Erdoğan's official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina and stated that the visit is also important in terms of increasing economic relations between the two countries.
Emphasizing that Erdoğan's upcoming visit is important for both Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region, Dzaferovic said: "Our relations with Türkiye are at their highest level in the past four years. This visit of President Erdoğan’s to Bosnia-Herzegovina is important in terms of increasing the economic relations between the two countries."
Recently, Türkiye celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Turkish diplomatic relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina. Türkiye was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina when it was declared in 1992 following the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Türkiye vowed to boost "deep-rooted historical, human and cultural ties" between the countries in all areas.
"We are determined to strengthen and add new dimensions to the existing excellent relations between Türkiye and Bosnia-Herzegovina and to further these relations for the benefit of our peoples and partners," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week marking the anniversary of ties, which were established on Aug. 29, 1992.
"The peace and stability of the region and Europe are directly linked to the peace and stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is important to focus on preserving the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious social fabric of Bosnia-Herzegovina and increasing the development and welfare of Bosnia-Herzegovina," the ministry statement said.
Türkiye will continue to contribute to the development of regional cooperation in fields such as trade, investment, energy, transportation, culture and education, and act in solidarity against all forms of terrorism, it added.
According to the statement, Ankara and Sarajevo show close solidarity and cooperation on international platforms and regional formats such as trilateral consultation mechanisms.
"In this period of increasing challenges in our region, as two friendly and brotherly countries, we continue to promote security and development in a wide geography stretching from the Balkans to the entire European continent.
"We believe that the European Union and Euro-Atlantic integration of our region is an important element in ensuring lasting peace and stability in all of Europe," it added.
