OHR warmly welcomes the ratification of the Special Relations Agreement by the BiH Federation House of Representatives today, and congratulates the BiH Federation negotiating team on their historic success.
The Agreement on Special Relations between Croatia and the BiH Federation, which took many, many hours of painstaking negotiation, is right for the BiH Federation and right for Croatia.
To Bosnian Croats, this special relations agreement offers comfort, security and a solid basis for greater confidence in the future. To Bosniacs, it offers transparency and the hand of co-operation.
The Agreement protects and furthers the interests of both Croatia and the BiH Federation, by opening the door to new jobs, new trade and new growth. It marks the beginning of the end to mutual hostility and suspicion, and the beginning of mutual trust.
Work has already begun on the all-important Annexes of the Agreement. OHR expects that these, too, will be submitted to the BiH Federation House of Representatives for approval in due course, so that the Agreement as a whole can then be ratified.