By Omer Cetres/Zlatan Kapic/Talha Ozturk
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Re-elected Bosniak Member of the Tripartite Presidency of the Council and Vice President of the Party of Democratic Action, Bakir Izetbegovic, evaluated his country’s election results with the Anadolu Agency.
Bosnian presidential and parliamentary elections were held on October 12.
During the elections, Izetbegovic ran against ten other candidates for the Bosniak membership of the Tripartite Presidency of the Council.
After the polls closed, Izetbegovic declared his victory with 75 percent of the votes counted.
In his first post-election interview with the Anadolu Agency, Izetbegovic discussed his efforts to form a new government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government's objectives and the relationship between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey.
Izetbegovic stated that the centre-right Party of Democratic Action's top priority is integrating into the Euro-Atlantic, which has been on hold for a long time.
"Our priority is to make progress in the process of gaining European Union and NATO membership," Izetbegovic said.
He stated that economics and politics are interconnected and "can take each other further just as they may also damage each other."
Izetbegovic also revealed that he has plans to make significant strides in the fight against corruption.
Relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey
"Turkey has always been good with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey supports us with regards to our territorial integrity and in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration," Izetbegovic said.
He added that "Turkey is making significant investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and repairing Bosnia's cultural heritage through the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency."
“It has opened universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and helped in the immediate aftermath of the flood disaster in May. While Turkey is making significant investments, it has not demanded anything in return. Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot say that Turkey has ever demanded anything from it."
“President Recep Tayip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu are my friends. Our friendship goes back to when my father, Alija Izetbegovic, was president. On election night, they called me as a friend and congratulated me."
“I would like to send them and the friendly Turkish people my greetings. We are proud of their achievements. I think in the coming period we will both be in more intense co-operation with each other."
The Bosniak leader pointed out that there are enough sectors in order to improve cooperation on the issue of investments and "that significant steps have been taken" in this regard by the Turkish government.
"Turkey has encouraged Turkish businessmen to invest in Bosnia. Yet people cannot be forced to risk their capital. As I have said before on this subject, in order to convince them to invest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we must solve our bureaucratic problems. We must guarantee their investments and provide an environment which allows them to gain profits quickly," Izetbegovic concluded.
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