Bosnia and Herzegovina has been designated as a programmatic country in the draft National Program for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Abroad until 2030, which the Republic of Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP) presented today.
As reported by the Croatian MVEP on its website, this program sets the sectoral and geographic priorities, partner countries, and measures for Croatian development and humanitarian action.
The geographic priorities of the program include the Western Balkans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina as a programmatic country, as well as the EU’s Eastern and Southern neighborhood, with Ukraine and Syria as programmatic countries.
The plan is to draft a multi-year bilateral development program with these countries, while retaining a possibility of implementing targeted projects outside the three priority regions.
The Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić, presented the draft document, emphasizing that the Republic of Croatia, as a country that itself went from being an aid recipient to an aid provider, can effectively transfer its experience of war and post-war recovery, reconstruction, and democratic transition to partner countries.
The new program defined three sectoral priorities: the dignity of every person, responsible economic development, and peace, security, and the development of democratic institutions.
These priorities encompass areas such as education, healthcare, human rights, green transition, digitalization, post-war reconstruction, humanitarian demining, and the strengthening of the rule of law.
The implementation of the Program is organized through strengthening Croatia’s role in the global development aid system, implementing bilateral and multilateral programs, and partnerships with civil society and the private sector.
The draft Program has been sent into a 30-day public consultation, and the Croatian MVEP has called on competent authorities, civil society, the private sector, and citizens to contribute their proposals to the final shaping of the document before its adoption.
