25 October 2007

IOM and the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina Joint Press Conference

The Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the three Lead nations representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Croatia), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) held a Joint Press Conference on Thursday 25 October in Sarajevo on the occasion of the visit of the Lead nations representatives and NATO international staff from Brussels.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Defence announced the final number of NATO/PfP Trust Fund (NTF) Programme was 3,261 persons, including members of Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were dismissed in earlier processes of reduction and haven’t been involved in other programmes of assistance.

On behalf of the three Lead nations, the Ambassador of Kingdom of Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed the good progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its Partnership for Peace Cooperation and acknowledged the role of the Ministry of Defence in that process as well as in the NTF. It was acknowledged that the NTF is an important part of a larger defence reform process and its further progress will depend largely on full political and practical cooperation of the parties. This commitment is indispensable to the successful implementation of the project.

In that respect, he noted that the NTF representatives from Brussels have been impressed by what they saw during their field visits to IOM regional offices and to the NTF beneficiaries. They “found NATO Trust Fund staff highly motivated, knowledgeable, and dynamic in seeking solutions for the beneficiaries”.

The Chief of Mission of the IOM, Ms. Regina Boucault, reiterated that members of Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina can get assistance within the NTF in the form of education for launching or expansion of an existing business, assistance in self-employment, agriculture, counselling, as well as finding other adequate and available programmes to facilitate sustainable inclusion of the NTF beneficiaries into civilian life.

For any additional information please contact:

Mrs. Edita Selimbegović, PR Consultant International Organization for Migration – Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tel: +387 (0)33 648 150 Fax: +387 (0)33 648 202 Mob: +387 (0)61 212 259.