Bosnia and Herzegovina is the 72nd signatory of the International Energy Charter which was adopted in May 2015 at a ministerial conference in The Hague. Mirko Šarović, minister of foreign trade and economic relations and vice chairman of the country’s Council of Ministers, signed the document at a ceremony at the charter’s secretariat in Brussels.
The event was attended by Lidija Topić, ambassador of BiH to the European Union, and by Wampie Libon – van der Wal of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is the depository of the International Energy Charter. Secretary general Urban Rusnák welcomed the signature and remarked the country was one of the original signatories of the Energy Charter Treaty of 1994, which it ratified in 2001.
Šarović said the declaration of political intentions aims to strengthen cooperation between signatories. He added the motiv, among other things, is to contribute to global management of energy and work on the protection of the environment and natural resources. The minister stressed there are still unresolved issues for BiH, namely the Third Energy Package legislature which would enable the separation of segments in energy and opening of the market.