At a meeting with the visiting Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidential Council Bakir Izetbegovic on Tuesday evening, Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani called for increased collaboration between the two sides saying “considerable room exists for bilateral relations between the two sides and similar visit could help strengthen pillars of mutual ties.”
Rafsanjani recalled the tough war among Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia and voiced satisfaction towards settlement of conflicts saying “fortunately, with rationality, you prevented hatred to cast its shadow upon your acts and words.”
“Iran has always deemed Bosnia as a gateway to Europe,” stated the official expressing hope that the country will possess or prepare grounds for arrival of tourists and businessmen.
He went on to note that Iran perceived no limitation on expansion of relations with the European side urging Bosnia to make plans for bolstering of bilateral ties in accordance with its capacities.
Bosnia’s Izetbegovic, for his part, considered Rafsanjani as the ‘hero of Islamic world’ saying “meeting Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had always been my dream which came true with the current visit to Tehran.”
The Bosnian president recalled the years of war and devastation in his country, saying that the Bosnian government and nation will never forget Iran's support for their country during tough times.
Izetbegovic honored Iran's stability in the much destabilized region of the world hoping that insecurities will vanish with the help of Iran and the international community.
“At times, Bosnian people have been entangled with unwanted war,” stressed Izetbegovic noting “fortunately, era of fear has ended and we are sparing no effort to strengthen pillars of the country in both state and private sectors.”
He went on to offer a detailed description of conditions in Bosnia expressing the need for establishment of peace and security in the region since war yields no fruitful result.
A number of other members in the Bosnian delegation, including the European country’s Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak, voiced satisfaction towards their presence in Tehran calling for further reinvigoration of mutual relations between the two countries.
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