SARAJEVO, 8 April 2009 – “The work of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat is tremendously important for the countries of the region and for all of Europe”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, Carl Bildt, at the RCC Secretariat’s premises in Sarajevo today.

Minister Bildt’s words echoed also the views of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and current President of the Council of the European Union, Karel Schwarzenberg, and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the French Republic, Bernard Kouchner. The three Ministers visited the RCC Secretariat to express support to the RCC work and confirm the EU perspective for all the countries of South East Europe.

“The fact that the three of us have come here demonstrates the very strong support by the EU, our respective governments, the three presidencies that we represent, the French, the Czech, and the incoming Swedish, for the work that you are doing”, said Bildt. “It is only by bringing cooperation and integration forward that we can serve the wider purposes of European integration.”

Welcoming the Ministers, the RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic stressed the significance of the visit and the importance the EU attaches to regional cooperation.

“We are privileged by the visit of the three Ministers as it underlines the high profile our Secretariat enjoys within the EU”, said Biscevic. “This support will additionally help us fulfill the RCC mission of promoting mutual cooperation and European and Euro-Atlantic integration of South East Europe in order to inspire development in the region to the benefit of its people.”

During the stay at the RCC premises, the Ministers met with the Secretariat’s staff, Ambassadors of the participating States of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as representatives of the RCC Secretariat’s host country.