Ambassador Chhabra: BiH and India have good political, cultural and economic cooperation

“Political, economic and cultural aspects of cooperation between India and Bosnia and Herzegovina” was the topic of lecture delivered by H.E. Rahul Chhabra, Ambassador of India. H.E. held the lecture on Friday, 27 April 2018, within the University of Sarajevo Open Lecture.

Welcome address by Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, University of Sarajevo Rector opened the Lecture. In his address Rector Škrijelj pointed out that India, as a country that had made an indelible trace in the history of humanity in the history of mankind, has traditionally good relations and mutual understanding with Bosnia and Herzegovina that stems from the Non-Aligned Movement.
“It is certain that we are looking forward to, both as a country and as the University, that there is a mutual desire to raise this mutual cooperation to a higher level, which will result not only in the mutual promotion of our national interests in international relations, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s significant economic representation on the Asian continent. That is why I sincerely hope that efforts will be intensified from the higher levels of government in relation to the agreement on cooperation in the field of culture, science and education, which would create conditions for the realization of the project of information and technology centers at the University of Sarajevo and Banja Luka, and other public universities, which would greatly affect the dynamic connection of the two markets” stressed Rector Škrijelj.

In the lecture, H.E. Chhabra, the Ambassador of India spoke about the relations between India and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fields of politics, trade, education and culture, and about modern India and future prospects. He also presented his vision of contemporary Indian reality.
Ambassador Chhabra reminded of the good historical cooperation goes back to the former Yugoslavia, and stressed that it was continued and that it was working on its strengthening. “In modern India, ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina are even stronger and there are no open issues between India and BiH. We have good political, cultural and economic cooperation” said Ambassador Chhabra. He also pointed out that with an increase of 8%, India is now the fastest growing world economy and the only nation that launched more than a hundred satellites from a single launch vehicle, making it the leading force in this field.
Ambassador Chhabra stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina supports India in foreign policy, but also India’s helping Bosnia and Herzegovina at all levels. As an example of good cooperation, it has been said that Yoga programs are held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indian dance evenings, Indian film and art evenings. He also said that in particular activities on strengthening economic cooperation between BiH and India are ongoing, and that in India, thousands of jobs are open to BiH citizens.
“A delegation consisting of fifteen Indian businessmen took part in the Sarajevo Business Forum 2018” said Ambassador Chhabra, adding that this delegation is intensively leading negotiations with business partners in BiH, and that good results have been achieved which will in the future result in better and stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.

India and Bosnia and Herzegovina share common ethos of pluralism and multi-ethnic societies; this relationship is increasingly driven by people-to-people contacts.  Ambassador Chhabra presented his country, its development through history, religions, ancient civilizations, cultural heritage and economic situation. The discussion was focused on India's progress in various sectors such as education, information technology, biotechnology, production, defense and medical tourism.