We can even find lessons in sport. When many had written off the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, the vision and leadership of the head coach, combined with the quality of the players, secured a victory over a global powerhouse like Italy.
Your Excellency Minister El Orabi,
Honorable Minister Lakić,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors Alkalaj, Haggag, and Ginkel,
Distinguished guests from the business and academic communities,
Fellow members of IGES,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the fourth annual conference of IGES, an institute dedicated to the successful integration of geopolitics, economics, and security into a singular, cohesive framework.
It is a profound pleasure that we came together here today to discuss the challenges of the global political and economic transformation. This process is inextricably linked to the issue of energy security, which stands as one of the most critical pillars of the contemporary international order.
We are currently witnessing heightened tensions and geopolitical repositioning among both global and regional powers. These strategic maneuvers by international actors do not merely test the current balance of power; they actively shape the future security, economic, and social architecture of our world.
Consequently, we in Bosnia and Herzegovina follow these dynamics with keen attention, and a degree of apprehension. For us, these are not abstract academic debates, but potentially existential concerns. Our collective tragic experience during the recent aggression against our homeland does not allow us the luxury of indifference.
We live in an age of accelerated globalization, technological advancement, and connectivity unprecedented in human history. The pace of change is so rapid that it challenges human nature’s ability to absorb it. Any state that fails to develop the capacity to adapt risks being relegated to the margins of global progress.
Any nation, and there are far more nations than there are states, that fails to grasp these contemporary tectonic shifts risks losing its historical relevance or, indeed, disappearing altogether. History teaches us that this is not a new phenomenon; many have vanished before us.
The question remains: who will endure?
Survival will belong to those political actors who control energy resources and food production, and who control trade routes and key geopolitical chokepoints. Success will favor those with the knowledge, information, and institutional capacity to integrate into the new world order.
Conversely, those who advocate for exclusion will gradually find themselves sidelined. In the modern world, no one has the privilege of isolation, for exclusion contradicts the very logic of contemporary international relations. Ultimately, no state is entirely independent; our planet functions as a single, interconnected system where crises on one side resonate throughout the entire international community.
Regrettably, in our country and across the region, we witness daily narratives that incite intolerance and generate political tension, directly undermining the security of the Balkans. We must not yield to the architects of such environments, not only for the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina but for the security of Europe and the wider international community. It is precisely these policies that have slowed, and eventually halted, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Euro-Atlantic path, serving as part of a broader strategy to destabilize Western interests in Southeast Europe.
Today, we also observe growing frictions within the Euro-Atlantic world, the likes of which we have not seen before. Nevertheless, we wish to believe this is a trial that every complex political and security structure must eventually face. While we may not directly influence these processes, we are deeply intrested in their resolution and stabilization. Our concern is simple: historically, almost every major geopolitical realignment in the Balkans has brought suffering in its wake.
Yet, I believe in the adage that crisis can also be an opportunity. We can even find lessons in sport. When many had written off the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, the vision and leadership of the head coach, combined with the quality of the players, secured a victory over a global powerhouse like Italy. Similarly, Bosnia and Herzegovina was written off in 1992 at the start of the aggression, but those assessments proved wrong. We survived, and despite numerous challenges, we have continued to evolve.
Perhaps the North Atlantic Alliance can find inspiration in these examples of how to emerge stronger from seemingly impossible situations. Many dismissed NATO following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, viewing it as obsolete. However, the war and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina proved that Europe had failed to uphold the promise of “Never Again.” It was then that NATO reaffirmed its purpose. The Alliance’s first military intervention in its history took place right here in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. This revitalized NATO, justifying its role in peacekeeping and leading to its subsequent expansion. I believe NATO is as vital to the collective West today as it was to Europe and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today’s conference has brought together exceptionally distinguished participants from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, and economics, as well as the business and energy sectors. We are honored to be joined by members and guests who live and work across four continents, Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. This is a practical testament to our philosophy of inclusion over exclusion. Strength and quality are born from diversity and connectivity, not weakness.
This gives me the conviction to believe that the idea of a multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina will prevail over the dark forces of exclusion and division. At the same time, I remain hopeful that the world will find a path toward preserving peace, which remains the fundamental foundation and prerequisite for all other progress.
I wish us all a successful and inspiring continuation of the conference.
Thank You.
Adnan Kapo
Dr. Adnan Kapo graduated in Political Science from Arizona State University in the United States and earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Sarajevo and the University of Delaware. He completed his PhD at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo. He served as an economic and foreign policy advisor to the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Haris Silajdžić, as well as an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Sven Alkalaj. He has extensive experience in the fields of politics, media, and management.