EWI, together with the Igman Initiative and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), organized a two-day conference in Neum, (BiH) that brought together foreign ministers and senior officials, including mayors from the Southern Adriatic regional triangle and heads of missions, and representatives of international organizations, regional and state institutions, and civil society.

During the opening of the conference the foreign ministers Mr. Sven Alkalaj of BiH, Ms. Kolinda Grabar Kitarovi ć of Croatia and Mr. Milan Roćen of Montenegro signed a joint statement in support of trans-frontier cooperation in the region. In their remarks, all three ministers emphasized the importance of cross-border cooperation in the normalization of relations among the three countries as well as for the sustainable development of the Southern Adriatic region.

EWI Director for Regional Trans-frontier Cooperation Mr. Robert Garnett stated that EWI, along with main local authorities in the region, has worked to make a difference on the ground, promoting cooperation where it is genuinely desired and communities across borders share a common interest. He added that the signing of a joint statement by the ministers reaffirms that interest and represents an important step forward that will further enable EWI to continue supporting the countries' efforts towards stability and prosperity.

During key plenary sessions of the conference, participants discussed at length particular areas of trans-frontier cooperation and significant progress was made towards establishing an "Umbrella Commission" on cross-border cooperation in the Southern Adriatic region. The first meeting of the commission is slated for October 2007.