Sarajevo – On 21 February 2024, MARRI RC Director Snezana Trajanovska, MSc. met with Mladjan Bozovic, Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Security, and Dr. Goran Behmen, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MARRI Committee member, to discuss the future cooperation and mutual support in implementation of MARRI RC’s activities as well as the activities and processes led by the Ministry of Security regarding migration management Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dr. Ankica Tomic, Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to MARRI RC and Ms. Branka Medic Cuca, MARRI Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina, also attended the meetings.
During this inaugural visit, Director Trajanovska provided an overview of MARRI RC’s current events and recent challenges faced in striking a balance between the requirements and available resources. Speaking of regional cooperation, she particularly focused on the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s involvement in the regional migration data exchange through MARRI’s Regional Platform for Migration Data Exchange in the Western Balkans (WB – MIDEX).
On his part, Mladjan Bozovic, Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Security, emphasized that MARRI as a unique intergovernmental initiative in the areas of migration, asylum, readmission, human trafficking and other areas of its mandate must be the leader of the regional approach in the EU integration process. “Its proactivity, visibility and influence in the region are needed now more than ever” stressed Bozovic during the briefing at the Ministry of Security.
MARRI Committee member Dr. Goran Behmen, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted that improving regional cooperation is one of the strategic commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s foreign policy. “Experience shows that facing common challenges successfully is possible only through joint efforts. This also applies to migration and asylum issues which makes the MARRI initiative a very important instrument for all actors in our region” added Ambassador Behmen.
Director Trajanovska used the opportunity to thank her interlocutors for the continuous support of Bosnia and Herzegovina to MARRI and expressed readiness for further deepening the cooperation in the future.