Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to grant the strategic gas pipeline project to a company associated with Trump, in order to reduce dependency on Russian energy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has begun taking steps to award a strategically significant natural gas pipeline project to a company associated with US President Donald Trump. Currently, American companies are increasing efforts to develop relationships in the Balkan region. On Wednesday evening, lawmakers from one of the entities that make up the country - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Muslim-Croat Federation) - voted to award the project to AAFS Infrastructure and Energy. The project is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The company is headed by Jesse Binnall, a former lawyer of Trump, and Joseph Flynn, the brother of Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The future pipeline, which will be 254 kilometers (157 miles) long, will connect Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European natural gas network through Croatia, ultimately breaking the country's complete dependence on Russian fuel. As a reflection of the peace agreement mediated by the US in 1995, the country remains divided: one side is the Bosnian Serbs (whose entity is known as the Republika Srpska), and the other side consists of Muslims and Croats. The related laws for the "Southern Interconnector Gas Pipeline" project still need to be approved by the upper house of the entity at a vote scheduled for April 15, and then require the approval of the central government. Some non-governmental organizations (such as the CEE Bankwatch Network) have criticized this decision, stating that the law aims to award the project to a company lacking experience and that the process lacks competitive tendering. According to Michael Flynn's organization, the "Gold International Strategic Studies Institute," he plans to hold an economic summit in Banja Luka in May. Before the approval process for the natural gas pipeline project began, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Banja Luka this week to promote business contacts and strengthen relations with the entity's former president Milorad Dodik. Since Trump's re-election, companies associated with Trump have been focusing on the region. The Trump Organization plans to build the Bucharest Trump Tower in the Romanian capital and construct a golf course, a hotel, and luxury apartments in Transylvania. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is seeking to develop a luxury resort on the coast of Albania. Previously, he canceled plans to build a Trump-branded hotel in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.