Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will visit the Western Balkan countries from February 16 to 20, where he will underscore the U.S. commitment to the countries of the Western Balkans and continued support for their Euro-Atlantic aspirations, the U.S. Department of State released.

The release adds that during his five-day tour, Burns will visit Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, as well as Pristina, where he will have meetings with senior officials on bilateral and regional issues.

Burns will encourage greater regional cooperation and stress the need for regional leaders to address key issues like the rule of law and economic development,

Prior to this, the Deputy Secretary Burns, accompanied by Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William Brownfield, will travel to Vienna to attend the Paris Pact Ministerial Meeting on countering trafficking in narcotics from Afghanistan across Europe, the release reads.