The Governments of the Republika Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the auspices of the Supervisor of Brcko, Ambassador Gary Matthews, agreed yesterday evening on a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the arbitration Final Award for Brcko.
In the agreement, reached at the Inter-Entity meeting that took place on Tuesday, September 19, 2000, at OHR (N) in Brcko, both Entities commit themselves to fully support and assist the development of the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The parties to the agreement identified the areas where assistance is mostly needed, taking into account the practical experience since the establishment of the Brcko District on March 8, 2000, and undertook to provide for specific solutions within the next 30 days. For that purpose, a series of working groups will be established to deal with different areas, including the financial issues; returns and reconstruction; revenues; pension, health care and social programs; and privatization issues.
The Memorandum of Understanding was initialed by the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Edhem Bicakcic; the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republika Sprska, Mr. Ostoja Kremenovic; the Mayor of Brcko, Mr.Sinisa Kisic, and the Deputy High Representative and Supervisor of Brcko, Ambassador Gary Matthews.
The Supervisor of Brcko considers that the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding represents a significant and substantial step forward in the process of the implementation of the Final Award and the development of the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ambassador Matthews thanks and congratulates all the parties involved for their efforts and their constructive approach to this process.