Minister for Foreign Affairs to begin Balkan visit
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern begins a four-day visit to the Balkans tomorrow amid political unrest in the region.
The trip includes meetings with Nikola Spiric who resigned as Prime Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in a row over proposed reform.
The measures, supported by the US and European Union, were designed to simplify voting in the federal government but Mr Spiric, an ethnic Serb, claimed they could leave Serbs vulnerable to domination by the country’s Muslim majority.
The four-day visit begins on Tuesday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, before moving to Srebrenica and Serbian capital Belgrade and finishing in the capital of Kosovo Pristina on Friday.
Among those Mr Ahern will meet are UN special representative in Kosovo Joachim Rucker and Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku.
Discussions are expected to focus on the situation in Kosovo, upcoming elections, economic issues and EU-Kosovo relations.
Mr Ahern will also meet Irish military serving in the KFOR peacekeeping force, gardai and people working with international organisations in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Around 350 Irish troops are serving in Kosovo and the minister will be briefed on their work by Brigadier General Gerry Hegarty, Commander of KFOR Multinational Task Force Centre.
The trip is also being used to further Ireland’s bilateral relations with the Balkan states.
