The majority of population in both countries speak one of the standard varieties of Serbo-Croatian and Serbia is one of the largest investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The beginnings of formal cooperation can be traced to the Bosnian War; Republika Srpska got support from Serbia.

[1] At the Dayton Agreement, the President of the Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milošević represented the Bosnian Serb interests due to absence of Radovan Karadžić.

[2] On July 8, 2015, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have condemned the Srebrenica massacre as a genocide.

[5] The Bosnian-Serbian war of 1349[a]–1351[b] was fought between the Banate of Bosnia (Kingdom of Hungary) and the Serbian Empire, and resulted in a Bosnian victory.