Due to strong bonds between the Bosnian region and the Ottoman Empire since the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans historically, a significant Turkish community as well as ties linking Bosnia and Turkey were established when Bosnia fell under Ottoman rule. Bosnia and Herzegovina was an important region for the Ottomans. Being its westernmost province, the Ottomans invested heavily in military infrastructure at the borderlands, and at the same time promoted cordial relations between settler Turks and the local populace. Many historical Ottoman figures, such as the Grand VizierSokollu Mehmed Pasha, came from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Turks left Bosnia and Herzegovina after Austria-Hungary occupied this region in 1878, although it de jure remained Ottoman territory for another 30 years. It was officially annexed in 1908, bringing the 445-year Ottoman era to an end. After Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the newly Republic of Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, many modern Turkish politicians sought to Bosnia and Herzegovina with Turkey, according to the motto of "two states, one heart." Under Yugoslav rule, religious observance declined, in spite of the fact that Josip Broz Tito did not totally suppress other religions like most other Communist nations during the Cold War.
Bosnian War
Turkey recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state on 6 February 1992. It was one of the first countries to do so; Bosnia and Herzegovina did not formally declare independence until the following month. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 29 August 1992. On 22 July 1995, Turkish president Süleyman Demirel mediated between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia when both countries signed the Split Agreement which enabled joined defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia against Serb forces.
Post-war relations
, the president of the Islamic community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated: "Turkey is our mother, so it was, so it will remain." On 11 July 2012, while visiting commemoration of Srebrenica massacre in Srebrenica, Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stated that Alija Izetbegović told him while he visited him in hospital that he left him "Bosnia as a testament" and that "Bosnia is an inheritance of the Ottomans". In recent years Turkish influence amongst the Bosniak politicians is growing. Erdogan is known for his effort in conciliation of two major Bosniak political parties, the Party of Democratic Action and the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the latter is de iure a multi-ethnic party. Many Bosnian towns with a Bosniak majority have streets named after Ottoman statesmen and conquerors. In center of Sarajevo there is a street named after Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and in Bihać there is a street named after Suleiman the Magnificent. In March 2018, Bosnian leader Bakir Izetbegovic said, some days before the visit of the Turkish President in Bosnia, that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a mentor for the Muslims and this is the reason that West doesn't like him. In 2016, as part of a state project named "living languages and accents in Turkey" the Turkish government accepted the Bosnian language as a selective course for its schools and announced that classes would start in 2018, first being piloted in areas with people of Balkan origins such as the Izmir region.
Turkish lobbyist group UEBD
In February 2018, a new pro-Turkish lobby group with the acronym "UEBD" was founded. Its opening promotional video, titled Olive Branch from Bosnia, a reference to the ongoing Turkish offensive against Syrian Kurds, showed Bosnians from all walks of life voicing their admiration and support for Turkey's military operation, spoken in fluent Turkish, and supplemented with prayers for the success of Turkey's operation. The new lobby group has raised suspicions in Bosnia and in Western countries about Erdogan's intentions to "strengthen his influence" in the Balkans.
