Swedish Crown Princess Couple begin visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel began their two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday in Sarajevo alongside Swedish Minister of State Isabella Lövin.

Their Royal Highnesses began the day at the Presidential Palace where they met the popularly elected presidential council consisting of three representatives (Željko Komšić, Šefik Džaferović and Milorad Dodik) of the constituent people’s groups: Bosniaks, Bosnian Croats and Bosnians.

The royal couple next went to Parliament where they attended a conference, organised by the UNDP, the United Nations Development Program and the Swedish government, regarding smart cities, environmental solutions, air quality and renewable energy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has some of the poorest air quality in Europe according to the World Health Organization. Sweden and the UNDP have worked together to fund projects in the country to help combat air pollution.

The air pollution problem was a focal point in Crown Princess Victoria’s speech at the conference. In English, Her Royal Highness remarked, in part, “The threats of climate change and environmental pollution are real, and they are in fact already claiming human lives.

“Take air pollution, for example, a major cause of death and disease globally. Unfortunately also here, in your country.

“I know that Bosnia and Herzegovina is taking measures to reduce both indoor and outdoor air pollution. A great effort, that Sweden is keen to support.“

“We should not underestimate the challenges ahead of us. But neither should we underestimate ourselves, and our ability to solve the problems we face,” she continued.

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???? Kronprinsessparet besökte under eftermiddagen det svenska it-företaget System Verification i Sarajevo. Företaget är specialiserade på kvalitetsövervakning och analys med fokus på innovation, effektivitet och säkerhet. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ På plats träffade Kronprinsessan och Prins Daniel företagets grundare Hamdija Jusufagics, vars föräldrar kom till Sverige från Bosnien och Hercegovina på 1970-talet. Jusufagics var själv svensk FN-soldat i Bosnien och Hercegovina. I dag har han öppnat en filial i Sarajevo för att ge tillbaka till sina föräldrars hemland. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ?/?: Sara Friberg/Kungl. Hovstaterna

A post shared by Kungahuset (@kungahuset) on Nov 6, 2019 at 9:16am PST

Later, the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel paid a visit to Swedish IT company System Verification in Sarajevo City Center before going on a guided city tour which included stops at a Serbian Orthodox church, a mosque, a synagogue and a Catholic cathedral. They also went to Kosevo Park where they planted a tree that symbolises “start of the work on developing a new environmental strategy, with support from Sweden,” according to the Royal Court.

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???? I det lokala projektet Robokids får ungdomar i åldern 7-10 år från olika regioner i landet träffas och lära sig mer om programmering genom att bygga robotar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Projektet får stöd via Sverige och organisationen KULT som utbildar ungdomar att bli engagerade i fredsbyggande och samhällets beslutsprocesser på lokal nivå. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ?: Pelle T Nilsson/SPA

A post shared by Kungahuset (@kungahuset) on Nov 6, 2019 at 9:19am PST

A trip to furniture museum Zanat was also on the agenda, as was visiting the bunker built by Josip Broz Tito. Their Royal Highnesses concluded day one with a dinner with the State Council and “representatives from various organisations working for innovation, entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for young people to stay in Bosnia Herzegovina.”

The Swedish royals conclude their trip today.