The current Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, was received today by the Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ Marco Luzzago in the Order of Malta’s Magistral Villa in Rome.

“We are proud and happy to reach an important milestone this year,”said Fra’ Marco Luzzago. “After a quarter of a century of diplomatic relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sovereign Order of Malta I sincerely hope that our relations will continue to grow stronger.”

President Komšić thanked the Order of Malta “on behalf of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina for decades of medical and social initiatives to support the community, before and after the Balkan war.” Hoping that “bilateral relations could be further intensified,” the President said he wanted to “achieve a cooperation agreement between us”. The President then addressed internal political issues in his country, stressing the urgent need to promote legal and social equality for all citizens.

Grand Chancellor Albrecht Boeselager outlined the Order of Malta’s main diplomatic, medical and humanitarian priorities. The issues discussed included the situation in the Balkan countries and the enlargement of the European Union, along with some of the major crisis scenarios in Europe and the world.

Since autumn 2019, the Order of Malta’s Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been supporting Caritas Bosnia to help children under three and unaccompanied minors in the migrant camps in Ušivak, near the capital Sarajevo. During the pilgrimage period from May to October Malteser Hilfsdienst’s German teams operate in Medjugorje, offering assistance to pilgrims and running the first-aid centre.

The meeting was attended by the respective ambassadors: Igor Žontar for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Pawel Gierynski for the Sovereign Order of Malta.