The Ambassador of the Czech Republic Ivana Hlavsová signed three agreements, worth a total of one million BAM, by which the Czech Republic continues to invest in the further development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The three projects selected for cooperation will contribute to a better quality of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina through various aspects, as well as approaching the goal of EU integration.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the six priority countries for development cooperation of the Czech Republic. Through its development cooperation, the Czech Republic uses various tools of assistance, such as knowledge transfer, scholarships for young talents, grants, but also cooperation and support to international organizations“, said the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivana Hlavsová.
According to her, in previous years, the Czech Republic has achieved exceptional cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina with organizations such as IOM, UNDP and UNV.
“This was the reason for the decision to support the further work of our partners on extremely important development projects with a budget of one million BAM,” she said.
Two of the three agreements signed are with UNDP. With the first agreement, the Czech Republic supports through the EU4AGRI project the mission of increasing the competitiveness of agricultural production and bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to European Union standards. The support will be focused on the development of the wine register in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will help in the administrative processes of food safety (evidence of the origin of wine and vines), but also support the business of small and medium-sized wine producers.
Also, the Czech Republic has joined other donors financing the project called MEG (Municipal Environmental Governance Project), which deals with one of the priority areas of Czech development cooperation, namely water and sanitation – said the Embassy of the Czech Republic.
The statement said that the project in its second phase focuses on supporting 31 local communities across Bosnia and Herzegovina on the path to responsible and sustainable management in the water sector.
UNDP Resident Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Steliana Nedera said that the next success of the EU4AGRI project, funded by the European Union, the United Nations Development Program together with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina will additionally support the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Together, we will focus on improving Bosnia and Herzegovina’s compliance with EU standards and thus contribute to increasing the knowledge and provision of services by institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” We are happy and grateful that the Czech Republic, through the second phase of the Municipal Environmental Management Project (MEG), will use the opportunity to transfer its knowledge and experience to partner local governments and their water companies. “This assistance will greatly contribute to improving the provision of water services at the local level in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” she said.
In addition to the agriculture and water sector, another common goal was found with UNFPA, so that the Demographic Resilience of Bosnia and Herzegovina project is the third selected project. The expected result of this project is a demographic and economic analysis that should reveal trends, and data such as: the effects of reducing the number of school-age children on the cost of education in the next 50 years; the effects of an increase in the elderly population on health care costs over the next 50 years or the effects of investing in the accessibility of childcare services on women’s employment.
UNFPA Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina John Kennedy Mosoti said the demographic challenges facing Bosnia and Herzegovina are real. Demographic change affects development goals related to poverty and inequality reduction, labor and social protection, health and education, food security and housing, as well as goals related to economic growth and the environment.
“Through its Demographic Resilience Program, UNFPA around the world is helping countries find a path to prosperity in a time of rapid demographic change. The UNFPA Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina has partnered with the Czech Government to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina’s resilience to the effects of demographic change and its impact on the country’s socio-economic development,” said UNFPA Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina John Kennedy Mosoti.
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