On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sinclair was a confidential site where diplomats from countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia met for talks and negotiations, along with government officials with the U.S. State Department and Congress, including U.S. Rep. Mike Turner. Turner was instrumental in bringing the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to Dayton.
Officials who attended these meetings included Croatia President Andrej Plenkovic, Montenegro President Jakov Milatović, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, North Macedonia Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski, Albania President Bajram Begaj, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the chairwoman and presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and others.
“It is rare that the presidents of these countries get together,” Johnson said. “It might be only the second time in history. … It’s huge. Dayton is back on the map.”
Building 12 was locked down and was used for these discussions, which were not part of the official NATO Parliamentary Assembly events, Johnson said. About 150 attendees came to Sinclair over three days.
Sinclair’s campus was outside the NATO Village security zone but close by.
Johnson said Sinclair kept these meetings and events secret for months, for security reasons. The State Department and U.S. government were the client who rented out Building 12, he said.
Johnson said his office was used by Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau and the adjacent conference room was used as one of the main negotiation rooms.
International news organizations and think tanks have highlighted concerns about security and stability in the Balkans.
Sinclair strives to be a useful asset to the Dayton region, and business, cultural and educational contacts and connections are very important, Johnson said. Sinclair of course supports the cause of peace, he said.
Many delegates and officials were children when the Dayton Peace Accords were signed, and Dayton holds a special place in their hearts for being a major part to the end of the Bosnian conflict, Johnson said.
“To come to Dayton as leaders, they are like ‘Wow, this is the place where that happened,’” he said.
Sinclair staff met with some of the delegates and the college plans to host an educational and economic development summit this fall (in October) that should bring in educational ministers from these foreign countries, he said. Sinclair now has personal connections with people from this region that should be good for professional development and developing business relationships, he said.
“We believe education is key to prosperity, education is key to peace, we believe education is key to living a good life,” he said.
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