BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ZELJKO KOMSIC ATTENDED A SPECIAL UN SESSION ON CLIMATE CHANGES

NEW YORK, USA (26.September,2007) – The Bosnian Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic, who is leading the Bosnian delegation at the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, attended a special session of the UN on the first day of the visit to New York. The session focused on climate changes.

He emphasized the burning issues in the light of ratification of the agreement of the UN Frame Convention on Climatic Changes from Kyoto and its implementation in Bosnia since July 2007.

Bosnia is prepared to take the next step: the implementation of the Clean Development Mechanisms.

"The global warming has already affected all the continents and oceans. Its negative influence is felt especially in the world’s poorest countries.There is no dilemma on whether or not a continual and a productive dialogue is to be made. All forms of polarization are to be avoided in the process, especially for the sake of the common benefit. Voices of the poorest countries, the least developed and the most vulnerable are to be heard”, Komsic stated in his address.

He presented participants of the session with the Bosnian activities that are related to climatic changes.

He added that Bosnia ratified the Frame Convention on Climatic changes in 2000 and that the instrument on Bosnia's association to the Kyoto protocol was submitted to the depositor - the UN Secretary general on April 16 2007. It has been put in force July 15 2007.

"Alignment of the national legislature with the European Commission’s demands is Bosnia’s priority. The Kyoto Protocol was one of the base and key steps in the process of European integrations.The next step is implementation of Clean Development Mechanisms. In that sense, Bosnia is making all the preparations necessary," Komsic emphasized.

The level of gas emissions in Bosnia has decreased compared to the year 1990. In spite of that, several programs are being implemented in Bosnia, such is the rationalization of energy, gasification process, tree planting, healthy food production… That is one of the most important aspects for integration of Bosnia to the international activities in the field of protection against the global climate changes.

Bosnia has also recently signed an agreement on regional energetic community based on the Memorandum of Athens from 2002/2003. The unified natural gas market was formed by the memorandum, as well as the electric energy market for the area of the whole of the Southeastern Europe.

The memorandum is aimed to create a legal and economic frame for formation of an energy network of the Southeastern Europe. That region is to be connected with the EU network and means an implementation of the EU acquits in the sectors of energy, environment, and competition and energy resources.

”Today we own much more than we have owned in the past. Our countries have become connected in many ways and dependent on each other. Together we are facing global climate changes. We need to act in cooperation with the rest of the world, all for the purpose of a sustainable development”, Komsic said.

Prior to this special session,the Bosnian President Zeljko Komsic met shortly with the presidents of the neighboring countries: Stjepan Mesic (Croatia), Boris Tadic (Serbia) and Zeljkom Sturanovic (Prime Minister of Montenegro). He also met with Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General.

Komsic also met with Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish prime Minister.They talked about the current relationship between Bosnia and Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan stated again that Bosnia is a friendly and a brotherly country and that the secular and all other kinds of relationship are a good base for the advancement of the already developed relations between the two countries.