Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has warned that population growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina is very slow and has delivered a message to Bosnian families that they should be having at least five children, during a visit to the country’s capital of Sarajevo. Speaking at Sarajevo University on Saturday, Erdo?an emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina could be in a far more advanced position than at present, due to its central location on the European continent and its hardworking people. “The population growth rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina is very low. [The country] should increase [the population growth rate] in order to have a young and dynamic population. … I say ‘three children’ in Turkey, but here we need at least five children [in Bosnian families],” Erdo?an remarked. Erdo?an also claimed that the real cause behind the economic bottleneck currently being suffered by the EU is the aging population of EU-member countries. “That’s why Bosnia and Herzegovina should be precautious [on the population issue],” the prime minister stated. As part of his two-day itinerary in Sarajevo, starting on Friday, Erdo?an has met with his Bosnian counterpart, Vjekoslav Bevanda, and the presidential council members of the multiethnic country, including the council’s Bosniak member Bakir Izetbegovic, Croatian member Zeljko Komsic and Serb member Nebojsa Radmanovic. Erdo?an also expressed his firm belief that Bosnia and Herzegovina would complete its EU accession process earlier than Turkey, if the country ensured its political and economic stability.
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