Minister Borovac's address at the opening of the BHAAAS Day in Neum

The international scientific symposium BHAAAS Days in BiH was opened today in Neum with speeches by the president of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Sciences and Arts (BHAAAS) Azra Terzić, BiH Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Semiha Borovac, and Director of the USAID Mission in BiH Peter Duffy. It is the largest international scientific meeting that is being held in our country this year and will bring together more than a thousand participants and as many as 260 lecturers, top experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina. of origin who work at prestigious universities in the United States of America, Canada, the Netherlands, Malta, Turkey, Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro, and who will transfer their knowledge and exchange opinions with fellow scientists and students from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the afternoon, the member of the BiH Presidency from the RS, Mladen Ivanić, joined the meeting and welcomed the enormous enthusiasm that the members of the Academy put into their work. At the meeting with members of the Academy and Minister Borovac, he emphasized that he greatly appreciates their scientific work and the knowledge they are ready to share with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The speech of Minister Borovac is transmitted in its entirety: Honorable President of the Academy Azra Terzić, Honorable members of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Sciences and Arts and participants of the symposium, Honorable Director of USAID, and Peter Daffy, representatives of the media. I am proud that the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina sponsors the eight annual meetings under the name "Days of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Sciences and Arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Today, I especially want to emphasize that we in Bosnia and Herzegovina highly value the work of this academy, which is the largest and most important organization of the academic diaspora of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the world in terms of the number and profile of its membership and its activities so far. We are proud of the fact that the Academy gathers around 300 distinguished doctors of science, researchers, professionals in various fields, and artists of Bosnian origin living in North America and Western Europe. We in Bosnia and Herzegovina are aware of the role and influence of the diaspora, especially the scientific diaspora, on the social, economic, cultural, and educational development of BiH. That is why we are ready to change the policy towards the diaspora to tie it more to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina is certainly to direct the enormous human resources of the diaspora towards the sustainable development of our society and state. We consider the Bosnian diaspora on all continents to be an indispensable and particularly important part of our homeland and a very important link on Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to Euro-Atlantic integration. There is no doubt that our people, whether they live here or in the diaspora, are the most precious capital of our country. You know that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made significant progress in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration, and we expect that BiH's application for membership in the European Union will soon be accepted in Brussels. In addition to European integration, Bosnia and Herzegovina is also focused on economic reforms aimed at improving the living standards of citizens, the rule of law, and the fight against organized crime and terrorism. One of the key foreign policy priorities is the activation of the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). In all these questions, we see the possibility of action by our diaspora and you specifically, because we consider you the true and best ambassadors of our country in the world. The Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Sciences has been that for years. Although you are perfectly integrated in the developed host countries, you never forget your homeland—Bosnia and Herzegovina—and you help it by sharing what is most valuable, which is knowledge. That is why I am grateful to our scientific diaspora for such a selfless contribution to the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering the enormous enthusiasm of the members of the Academy, I am convinced that the exchange of knowledge and ideas with colleagues and students in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region will continue. On the other hand, the Ministry will intensify cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and its diaspora scattered around the world and strengthen bilateral cooperation with the countries where our hardworking and honest people live. I wish you successful work and a pleasant stay here in Neum. Thank you  (http://www.mhrr.gov.ba/)