January 31, 2023

Van Hollen, Shaheen, Bipartisan Colleagues Meet with Bosnia and Herzegovina Tripartite Presidency in Washington

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) alongside a bipartisan group of Senators in a bilateral meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) tripartite presidency. Senators Tillis (R-N.C.), Murphy (D-Conn.), Wicker (R-Miss.), and Durbin (D-Ill.) also participated in the meeting with the BiH Presidency members: President Željka Cvijanović, President Željko Komšić and President Denis Bećirović. 

“I appreciated the opportunity to join Senator Shaheen today to meet with Presidents Bećirović, Cvijanović, and Komšić during their historic visit to the United States. As the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina take important steps forward on their path to EU membership, the United States will continue to back their efforts to strengthen their democracy. It’s critical that all parties continue working together to achieve this important goal and ensure all citizens are fairly represented in the political process. The United States will keep working to support peace and democratization in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Senator Van Hollen. 

“As Bosnia and Herzegovina works toward advancing its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, it’s important that the U.S. continue to support their ambitious reform agenda. We want to support their citizens’ demands for a democratic, prosperous future, and I was encouraged by signs of opportunity for cooperation and the formation of key institutions to set them on that path. Bosnia and Herzegovina faces a precarious political situation, so every effort to resolve the differences between parties must be prioritized by its leaders – and supported by partners like the United States – especially as Russia looks to exacerbate tensions and spread its malign influence,” said Senator Shaheen. “It was an honor to welcome the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Washington, DC – the first visit for the tripartite presidency in eighteen years – which I hope fosters a renewed partnership between our two nations.” 

“I want to thank the BiH Tri-Presidency for meeting with us to strengthen our partnership as we continue to combat Russian aggression and influence in Eastern Europe,” said Senator Tillis. “As co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, I am proud to work with Senator Shaheen on these important updates and show the Senate’s continued support for the NATO Alliance.” 

“A generation has gone by since the last time all three members of the presidency visited Washington together,” said Senator Wicker. “Bosnia remains far short of the prosperous democracy we hoped it would become and that its people deserve. I urged our distinguished visitors to work for unity and conveyed the United States’ strong support for Operation Althea.” 

 “The Bosnian people paid a terrible price in the breakup of the former Yugoslavia,” said Senator Durbin. “After so much bloodshed and suffering, we must not let spoilers undermine the hard fought peace the U.S. and others helped broker. During today’s bipartisan meeting, we reiterated U.S support for their democracy and I look forward to our continued partnership.”