The foreign relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia are bound together by shared history, language, neighboring geography and cultural commonalties. They established diplomatic relations in 1992, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia and independence of Croatia. The Washington Agreement (1994) and Dayton Accords (1995) continue to guide bilateral foreign affairs. The two countries share a border – the third longest external land border in the European Union (EU). Modern relations between the two states are generally functional, marked by regular cooperation, while some political issues remain unresolved.
Their roles in the Bosnian War and the Croat–Bosniak War of the 1990s continue to complicate modern relations. Disputes remain over their shared border, extradition treaties, as well as sovereign ownership of infrastructure and nuclear assets. The complex ethnic makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina has led to Croatia's financing of their "two schools under one roof" system. Their common geography has complicated immigration. Croatia agreed to yield the Neum Corridor – 20 kilometres (12 mi) of their 6,400-kilometre coast – to Bosnia in 1991, giving the Bosnian state the second-shortest coastline in the world. Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (544,780 persons) comprised 15.43% of the country's population in 2013.
Croatian is also one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with Bosnian and Serbian, both of which are also recognized as minority languages of Croatia; the three are fully mutually intelligible standard varieties of Serbo-Croatian. Both countries have similar population sizes and collaborate extensively on economic treaties that mutually benefit their growth. Croatia is a member of the European Union (EU) and Eurozone, while BiH is a candidate for EU accession; both are in the Council of Europe. BiH has an embassy in Zagreb with Croatia maintaining an embassy in Sarajevo and six consulates in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, Livno and Vitez.
Demographics The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (544,780 persons at the 2013 census) comprise 15.43% of the country's population and 22.4% of the Federation entity, where 91% of them live. Four out of ten Federation's cantons have a Croat majority. According to the Croatian 2021 census, there were 109,352 people with both Croatian and another citizenship, the majority of whom were Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina living in Croatia. Bosniaks of Croatia amounted to 24,131 at the 2021 census (0.6%). There is also a smaller number of Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina working in Croatia.
The two countries do not have an agreement on dual citizenship, and the number of persons with double citizenship is therefore unclear. According to the Croatian Ministry of Interior, 384,631 Croatian citizens had registered residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2019. 35,547 citizens of Croatia cast their vote at polling stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2019–20 Croatian presidential election, and 21,898 for the parliamentary elections in July 2020.
Several high-level Croatian politicians have been born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including: Zagreb's mayor Milan Bandić, from Grude; Minister of Defence Gojko Šušak, from Široki Brijeg; Minister of Defence Jozo Radoš, from Seonica; Minister of Foreign Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić, from Mostar; Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić-Radman, from Prisoje; Minister of Finance Ivan Šuker, from Livno; Minister of Economy Ljubo Jurčić, from Ružići; Minister of Economy Davor Filipović, from Sarajevo; Minister of Health and Minister of Veterans' Affairs Juraj Njavro, from Neum; Minister of Science, Education and Sports Dragan Primorac, from Banja Luka; Members of Parliament Nino Raspudić (from Mostar), Nevenko Barbarić (from Klobuk), Daniel Spajić (from Žepče), Ljubica Maksimčuk (from Teslić), Radoje Vidović (from Fojnica), Pero Ćosić (from Široki Brijeg);
Some of them have been active politically in both countries, including: Božo Ljubić, from Uzarići, BiH Minister of Communication (2007–2009), member of Parliament of Croatia Željana Zovko, from Mostar, ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina and later Member of the European Parliament from Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Affairs Minister Bisera Turković was born in Sisak, Croatia.
Diplomatic relations
Bosnia and Herzegovina's and Croatia's diplomatic relations started with Croatia recognizing Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 January 1992, which Bosnia and Herzegovina reciprocated on 7 April the same year, and both countries finally signed an agreement of mutual friendship and co-operation on 21 July the same year, during the series of Yugoslav Wars. Together, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have signed 111 various treaties delimiting issues ranging from establishment of diplomatic missions to resolving border disputes.
The Croatian embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in Sarajevo and its 6 consulates are located in Sarajevo (consulate-general), Banja Luka, Mostar, Livno, Vitez and Tuzla. The current Croatian ambassador in BiH is Ivan Sabolić. Current BiH ambassador in Croatia is Azra Kalajdžisalihović.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has its embassy in Zagreb. Beside the embassy, there is one consulate-general of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Croatia, also located in Zagreb.
Croatia's role in the Bosnian War
Both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia were engaged in the early-1990s Yugoslav wars. From July 1991 to January 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries used Bosnian territory to wage attacks on Croatia. In parallel to its own war of independence, Croatia was involved in the armed conflict on Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory. At first, Bosniaks and Croats fought in an alliance against the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). By September 1992, Croatia had accepted 335,985 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly Bosniak civilians (excluding men of military age). By the end of 1992, however, tensions in Central Bosnia increased, leading to open conflict by early 1993, when Croats established the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.
The Croat–Bosniak War opposed from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994 the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia. Most of the fighting took place in Central Bosnia and in the Herzegovina region between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO). ARBiH expelled slightly over 150,000 Croats, while the HVO expelled around 50,000 Bosniaks. The most symbolic episode of the conflict was the destruction of Mostar's Old Bridge by the Croat militia's bombing on 9 November 1993. On 23 February 1994, a ceasefire was reached, and the Washington Agreement was signed on 18 March 1994 leading to the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and joint operations against the Serb forces, which helped alter the military balance and bring the Bosnian War to an end. Split Agreement called on the Croatian Army (HV) to intervene militarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily in relieving the siege of Bihać.
Croatia was a signatory of the Dayton Peace Agreement, on behalf of itself and of the Croat militias in BiH, thus assuming international obligations. This role is often misrepresented in Croatia as the one of "guarantor" of the agreement.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted 17 HVO and Herzeg-Bosnia officials, six of whom were convicted for participating in a joint criminal enterprise that sought to annex or control Croat-majority parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and two ARBiH officials for war crimes committed during the conflict. The ICTY ruled that Croatia had overall control over the HVO and that the conflict was international in character.
According to the CIA World Factbook, 7,269 Croatian refugees still live in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country has 131,600 internally displaced persons.
Yugoslav succession issues
Property restitution The 2001 agreement on Yugoslavia's succession issues foresaw a follow-up bilateral agreement on the restitution of specific properties of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the territory of Croatia, which include petrol stations, hotels (such as the Hidrogradnja complex in Baška VodaN1), and assets at the ports of Šibenik and Ploče, for a total worth estimated at 10 billion euros. 64 such assets have been registered by the Republika Srpska entity, and 78 by the Federation entity; there is no State-level single registry. Negotiations for a bilateral agreement lasted until 2012, when they were discontinued due to Croatia's unwillingness to agree with Republika Srpska's request for a right to perpetual ownership of the properties. In 2018, Croatia adopted a law on state property management, allowing the rental of such properties with concessions for up to 30 years. This raised concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Balkan Insight, 30 May 2018
Extradition In May 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia contested the execution of a treaty of mutual extradition of the countries' citizens, owing to many convicted people fleeing to the other country and attaining dual citizenship to be virtually immune to extradition. These people have included Ognjen Šimić, a surgeon from Rijeka convicted to nine years in prison for accepting bribes; Ante Jelavić, a former president of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted in Croatia to 9.5 years for alleged abuse of position at the Bank of Herzegovina in Mostar; and others. According to Bosnia and Herzegovina government, fourteen people sentenced in Bosnia and Herzegovina live self-exiled as Croatian citizens. The two countries secured an agreement that would allow imprisoning such escapees for their sentences within their current country of residence without their consent (the status quo version requires consent of the escapee, which is usually not given).
Border issues
The two countries have several small disputed sections of the boundary, the most prominent of which is the one related to maritime access.
Bilateral issues Political relations and status of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Debate over the political representation of Bosnian Croats has been a recurring issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia relations. Under Bosnia and Herzegovina's electoral system, voters in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina elect the Bosniak and Croat members of the tripartite Presidency, and voters may choose which of the two contests to vote in. Bosnian Croat parties and Croatian officials have argued that this framework enables the Croat member of the Presidency to be elected with decisive support from non-Croat voters, while other actors have defended the system as consistent with the existing legal framework.
Following the October 2018 general election, Croatia criticised the election of Željko Komšić as the Croat member of the Presidency, arguing that he lacked support among the main Croat parties and was elected largely with votes from predominantly Bosniak areas. In December 2018, the Croatian Parliament adopted a declaration calling for constitutional and electoral changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed at improving the political position of Croats.
This resolution was deemed by the Office of the High Representative as in violation of Croatia's obligations of non-interference under the Dayton Agreement. Bishop Franjo Komarica of Banja Luka claimed that Catholics are being discriminated in all respects: politically, socially, and economically, mentioning that Catholics often have problems when they have Croat names.