On Monday, April 8, the Social Sciences Research Center at International Burch University hosted Olav Reinertsen, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Bosnia and Herzegovina which is currently the NATO contact point in BiH, for a guest lecture titled “NATO’s Open Door Policy and Its Implications for Bosnia and Herzegovina.“ On Monday, April 8, the Social Sciences Research Center at International Burch University hosted Olav Reinertsen, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Bosnia and Herzegovina which is currently the NATO contact point in BiH, for a guest lecture entitled “NATO’s Open Door Policy and Its Implications for Bosnia and Herzegovina.“
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a political and military organization counting 32 member states from Europe and North America, the cornerstone of which is a collective defense guarantee and which has a policy of accepting new member states from Europe that are in a position to further the principles of the Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area, pending unanimous consent of all members.
Ambassador Reinertsen spoke about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization through the perspective of Norway, which joined the alliance in 1949 as a founding member after the end of World War II when Norway’s neutrality was violated by Nazi Germany.
In the succeeding 75 years, “NATO has helped Norway stand tall” as an actor in international affairs with its own agency, including through the weight of its vote in the North Atlantic Council and through the fact that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”
In addition to military protection, the perspective of NATO accession has been demonstrated to increase foreign direct investment, by as much as 300% in some countries to which NATO has recently enlarged.
The benefits of NATO membership are also demonstrated by the recent accessions of Finland and Sweden, which have long histories of neutrality and strong military capacities, as well as increased interest in membership from countries such as Ukraine and Georgia but also the recent intensification of cooperation with other countries.
The ambassador continued by noting that the door for Bosnia and Herzegovina is wide open and that both the country and its citizens would benefit from membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Although Bosnia and Herzegovina is an independent and sovereign country that sets its own policy, Norway and other NATO countries “preach what they believe in and they believe in NATO.”
On top of offering military protection to countries and indirectly contributing to increased FDI, NATO supports the advancement of democracy, peace, and security.
NATO’s commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina is evidenced by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Sarajevo in October 2023, the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in February 2024, and the meeting between the secretary general and current chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Denis Bećirović that took place simultaneously as the lecture.
Transcript of the lecture is available here.