§ 24. Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the aid programme in Bosnia. [39084]
§ Clare ShortMy Department has provided more than £400 million of humanitarian and reconstruction aid and technical assistance to, Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1992. As the large World Bank and European Union programmes, to which Britain contributes substantially, are now coming on stream, the focus of my Department's work is moving from emergency to development assistance.
During my visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina in February, I reviewed our programme and the focus of our activities for the forthcoming year will be refugee return and reconciliation, additional advice and support to the Government of Republika Srpska, health financing system reform, media training, development of the small and medium enterprise sector, institutional development and advice on enterprise restructuring. We shall conclude activities in inter-entity electricity transmission reconstruction. We are also considering how we might help further with demining.