Meeting with SDA Chairman Bakir Izetbegović

Meeting Bakir Izetbegovic 2025

On 5 February, Stephan Raabe, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), met for a lengthy conversation with the Chairman of the Bosniak SDA, former member of the BiH Presidency, Bakir Izetbegović. The SDA, currently in opposition, is the largest of the five partner parties of the Adenauer Foundation and parties in BiH in general, with over 100,000 members. The SDA holds 19% of the seats in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 27% of the seats in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH. The SDA is an associate member of the European People's Party (EPP), which also includes the CDU/CSU, and supports EU membership.

They discussed concrete cooperation, for example within the SDA political academy, the planned visit of a delegation to Berlin and Brussels, the EU accession process and the political situation in BiH. They also discussed the role of the High Representative and issues such as the unresolved issue of state property from the former Yugoslavia. Another topic was the Palestinian conflict and the war in Gaza. Mr. Izetbegović highlighted the common basic political commitments that unite the CDU/CSU and the SDA within the EPP and referred to the long-standing good cooperation that is now continuing. Mr. Raabe stressed that Germany and the CDU stand with BiH on the issue of the genocide against Bosniaks in the war from 1992 to 1995, which was clearly highlighted by last year's UN resolution on the issue, which was initiated by Germany. There is also a strong interest in supporting the country on its path towards the EU. On 27 February, the first Adenauer-Europa-Forum will be held in Sarajevo, with the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, as the speaker.