Queen鈥檚 birthday celebration 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ambassador鈥檚 speech
Ambassador Matthew Field marks 25 years since the UK first opened a full diplomatic presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ladies and gentlemen, Dame i gospodo, dobrodo拧li u britansku rezidenciju, welcome to the British Residence, on this beautiful, dry day.
My sincere thanks to all of you for joining us today to celebrate the birthday of a remarkable woman. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth the Second is turning 93 years of age. Devedeset tri godine! Ona je na拧a najdugovje膷nija vladarica.
Since taking to the throne in 1952, she has witnessed the birth of the modern world. Theresa May is her 13th Prime Minister. And Donald Trump is her 11th US President. Sve je vidjela.
This Queen鈥檚 Birthday Party we mark a special anniversary in the relationship between the UK and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Danas obilje啪avamo posebnu godi拧njicu.
It is 25 years since the UK first opened a full diplomatic presence in this country. During those 25 years, countless Britons have come to serve their country in this country. Neki su tu slu啪bu platili svojim 啪ivotima. There is a memorial to our fallen soldiers in this very garden. More recently, we have said goodbye to another solider, the one and only Lord Paddy Ashdown. Do啪ivotnom prijatelju Bosne i Hercegovine.
U tih dvadeset pet godina prijateljstva i partnerstva, malo toga bi se postiglo da nije bilo neumornog rada i kreativnosti na拧ih bh. uposlenika u ambasadi i Britanskom savjetu. Mnogi od njih, biv拧i i sada拧nji, su danas ovdje. They have heard this speech many times before, ali i dalje imaju osmijeh na licu. In the case of Senad 沤olji膰, who was there when the first office opened, 25 times. I have a certificate from our Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to prove this.
Please join me, on behalf of Her Majesty鈥檚 Government, in showing our appreciation to all of our staff .
In my first Queen鈥檚 Birthday Party, I want to take the chance, on behalf of myself, Martina and our family, to thank you for the extraordinarily warm welcome. Drago mi je 拧to je tako veliki broj poznatih i prijateljskih lica danas ovdje.
The reason we feel so lucky to be here in this country, is because we believe in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mi vjerujemo u gra膽ane ove zemlje. Ono 拧to vidimo, kao i ono 拧to gra膽ani rade da bi imali bolju, pravi膷niju i otvoreniju zemlju 鈥� daje nam inspiraciju.
Of course we have and will make mistakes. Ko radi, taj i grije拧i. As anyone who follows me on social media knows.
And we almost made it to the end of the speech without mentioning Brexit.
Anyone who has met me, seen my interviews, read my blog, or bumped into me in the shops, will have heard that the UK is doing more not less in BiH. Napu拧tanje EU to ne膰e promijeniti, i ne膰e nas sprije膷iti da i dalje budemo blizak prijatelj i partner BiH.
This year we have seen the return of BBC to BiH. We have contributed more troops to EUFOR 鈥� vojnika, ne 拧pijuna. We hope soon to have a direct flight again. We are doing more business together.
We have major investors such as Eastern Mining, and our main sponsor today. We continue to bond over our love of drink, thanks today to Banjalu膷ka Pivara, Stock, Boreas-Stani膰 and Coca-Cola. I hope you will enjoy your leaving gift today courtesy of Stanogradnja, just one of the Tesco range now available in Bingo supermarkets. Svi mi u ambasadi smo uzbu膽eni zbog mogu膰nosti koje su pred nama u ovoj godini. We are committed partners in creating opportunities and a future here. No one should have to leave this wonderful country to fulfil their potential. A, inspiri拧e nas prilika 拧to 膰emo raditi zajedno sa svima vama.
I would ask you to raise your glass, in marking 25 years of the UK in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Obilje啪avamo dvadeset pet godina Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva u Bosni i Hercegovini. And in toasting Her Majesty The Queen. Njenom veli膷anstvu Kraljici. Cheers. 沤ivjeli.