Islamabad: To celebrate the National Day and Armed Forces day of his country the ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina, Sakib Foric hosted a reception at a hotel here, which was attended by diplomats; Armed Forces personnel of the diplomatic community; senior Pakistani officers and a cross section of Pakistanis from different walks of life. It was also an occasion for those who attended to meet the new ambassador. After the national anthems of Bosnia Herzegovina and Pakistan had been played the cake was cut with those on stage taking part in the ceremony. Addressing the guests Ambassador Foric said it was an honour for the embassy that they have come to participate in the celebration of the National Day and Armed Forces Day of Bosnia Herzegovina. “Please accept our warmest greetings and profound thanks.” He went on to say, “Tonight we are here in honour of two very important days for my country – November 25th, our National Day (Statehood Day) and December 1 Armed Forces Day.” After this he gave a brief summary of the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the 12th till the end of 14th century, when the country was known as one of the older European kingdoms. After this for the next several centuries it was part of Ottoman Empire until the Berlin congress in 1878 when it came under the Austro Hungarian Empire, with a special status and special close relations with both empires; the period it was part of the Federal People Republic of Yugoslavia; the war of independence from 1992 – 1995 after which an agreement was signed in US to terminate the war. Today Bosnia Herzegovina is a stable country with a bright future. In case of the Armed Forces he mentioned the unique example of the transition from a post conflict country with three Armed Forces to one unique one established at the state level with 16000 fully professional soldiers that apart from being allied to other international organisations, tries to be useful by giving citizens a secure environment and help in case of natural disasters. “Our military industry is growing and we try to be partners with many countries, of which a good example is Pakistan,” he said. As regards to bilateral relations, he said he was happy to say that the two countries have always enjoyed friendly relations. “I avail this opportunity to reaffirm to our Pakistani friends and leadership that Bosnia Herzegovina has an abiding interest in further strengthening of relations with Pakistan in all fields of mutual interest,” he said. “Finally, I wish to reiterate on this happy occasion that the friendship will further grow between Pakistan and Bosnia Herzegovina and I wish for peace, prosperity and happiness for the peoples of the two brotherly countries. Thank you.”
