Bosnian-Croatian relations

On January 24, 1992, Croatia recognized the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina ^[2] , and on April 7 of the same year, Bosnia and Herzegovina reciprocated ^[3] . On July 7, 1992, the countries established official diplomatic relations, and on July 21, 1992 signed an agreement on mutual friendship and cooperation, when the Yugoslav wars were in full swing. BiH and Croatia signed 111 different agreements: from the establishment of diplomatic missions to the resolution of border disputes ^{[4] [5]} .

Since the early 1990s, BiH and Croatia have been involved in the Yugoslav wars, armed conflicts that followed the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into five sovereign states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia , Slovenia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Croats , Bosniaks and Serbs (including Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs ) fought against each other in a civil war. Most of the battles took place on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Croats proclaimed the creation of the Croatian Republic of Herceg Bosn . After the end of the fighting, BiH and Croatia maintained the same border as during the existence of Yugoslavia. In 1995, the Dayton Accords were signed: Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two parts, where mainly representatives of three peoples lived: the Republika Srpska (for Serbs) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (for Bosnians and Croats). According to the CIA World Book of Facts, 7,269 Croatian refugees still live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a total of 131,600 internally displaced persons ^{[6] [7]} . In 2009, a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Silajdzic criticized the Dayton Accords and their results ^[8] .

As of 2009, an extradition agreement was not signed between BiH and Croatia, which led to the fact that many accused fled to a neighboring country and received citizenship there, thereby avoiding punishment. According to the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, fourteen people sentenced to death live in Croatia. However, the governments of both countries continue to try to reach consensus and sign an extradition treaty ^{[9] [10]} .

In 2007, exports to Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to 14.4% of the total volume of Croatia, which made this country the fifth largest trading partner of Zagreb. In 2007, the volume of trade between countries amounted to 2,517 million US dollars (3.64 billion convertible marks 13.63 billion Croatian kuna ), which is 32% higher than last year ^{[11] [12]} .

• Bosnia and Herzegovina has an embassy in Zagreb ^[13] .
• Croatia has an embassy in Sarajevo ^[14] .