UPDATE - Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway ‘important’ for development

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM MEMBERS OF BOSNIAN'S PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL

By Diyar Guldogan and Talha Ozturk

ANKARA (AA) - The Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway will lead to "very important" developments between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"...I believe that [the highway] will contribute to very very important improvements and developments between Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina," Erdogan said after the Turkey-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Serbia Trilateral Summit in Belgrade.

He said the highway will pave the way for productivity for the residents in the region.

The president said the trilateral summit was "fruitful" and he announced that the next summit will be held in May next year.

For his part, Serb member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Presidential Council Milorad Dodik said the trilateral meeting discussed the highway linking Serbia and Bosnia, the TurkStream pipeline and the need for peacekeeping and stability in the region.

Dodik said it is possible that a Council of Ministers between the three countries would be formed.

Bosniak member Sefik Dzaferovic said Turkey is a stabilizing factor in the region, adding numerous issues between Serbia and Bosnia need to be addressed bilaterally.

Croat member and the current Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina's Presidential Council Zeljko Komsic said new ideas -- such as a railway infrastructure -- were also discussed at the meeting.

Later on Tuesday, Erdogan will attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway.