Meeting of AII Secretary General Amb Pigliapoco with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina ,H.E. Vjekoslav Bevanda (Sarajevo 16 June 2014

On the occasion of the opening Day of the AII Chairmanship of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( June 2014 - May 2015) , the Secretary General of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative , Amb. Fabio Pigliapoco , was received by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina , H.E. Vjekoslav Bevanda , at the Seat of the Federal Government .
The meeting , which took place before the first Committee of Senior Officials of AII ( Ministries of Foreign Affairs ) under BiH Presidency , offered the opportunity of a comprehensive exchange of wievs on the Goals and Program of the new Chairmanship , after the good results obtained during the year of the Albanian Presidency ,just ended .
The scope of last February Athens AII Ministerial meeting , which solemnly confirmed the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative as the " intergovernmental anchorage " of the AII , was highlighted and highly appreciated . The Athens Declaration represents - according to both - a milestone in the life of the Organization which is now fully engaged in the macroregional process . The Permanent Secretariat will continue in the action of support of the AII rotating Presidency in full cooperation with the European Commission.
The Goverrnment of Bosnia and Herzegovina is perfectly aware that the period of its Presidency , coinciding with the first semester of the Italian Presidency of the EU and with the approval of the Strategy by the European Council by the end of the Year , will be of particular significance and crucial for the future developments of the Adriatic and Ionian macroregion. Therefore all the ordinary intergovernmental Round Tables of AII during BiH Presidency will be focussed and oriented to contribute to the macroregional process.
The involvment of civil society in the continuation of the process and , even more , in the implementation phase of it , will be encouraged and stimulated , as much as a closer cooperation with National Parliaments as decided in Tirana by the Speakers of Parliaments of AII participating Countries last April.