Bosnia hosts foreign ministers at regional forum

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A regional cooperation forum for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe held a foreign ministers' meeting in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Thursday.

Taking part in the Central European Initiative (CEI) meeting were Macedonia, Belarus, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, and Croatia.

European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn also attended.

In a speech, Host country Bosnia's Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak stressed that the EU accession process for Bosnia and Herzegovina is a "turning point".

Crnadak also said that during the meeting they had a chance to discuss issues such as the fight against terrorism and regional cooperation on the refugee crisis.

For his part, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said that the countries of the region act in light of a common goal.

"We all want to be part of the European family. During the meeting, we discussed the development of infrastructure, bilateral relationship, and improvement of living conditions," he said.

The CEI was established in Budapest in 1989 at the initiative of then-Yugoslavia, Italy, Austria and Hungary in order to promote regional cooperation. The CEI today has 18 members: Slovakia, Ukraine, Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.