First meeting of Croatian and Bosnian-Serb representatives along Sava river since war

SLAVONSKI BROD, 20 February 2002 - For the first time since the end of the conflict of 1991 to 1995, county level officials from former warring municipalities of Croatia and the Bosnia and Herzegovina entity of Republika Srpska are meeting in Croatia.

This cross-border meeting of officials from either side of the Sava river on the border between the two states is being held today in Slavonski Brod, north-eastern Croatia. The meeting also included one municipality from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other of the two entities that constitute Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In what is seen as an important sign of normalization, officials on both sides are meeting to start a dialogue on matters of mutual interests including ecological problems and the protection of the Sava river, health service, agriculture and infrastructure. The meeting is also a good opportunity for local and regional officials to start up dialogue on other important matters of mutual interest such as issues related to return of refugees and displaced persons, property, citizenship, transport, agriculture and cross-border communication.

The meeting is organized by the Croatian County of Brodsko-Posavska but comes as a result of a long process of facilitation of cross-border contacts between officials on both sides of the Sava river by the OSCE Missions to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Local county and municipal officials from Croatia and several municipalities of the Republika Srpska are now in regular contact. This is, however, the first time in which the two parties take complete charge of the process and meet at their own initiative.