A £3 million aid package for the Western Balkans was announced today by the Government, bringing support to the region to £21 million in the last five years.
The package, announced by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Liz 0’Donnell, is the largest contribution since the Kosovo conflict.
Ms O’Donnell said increasing the overseas aid budget had made the donation possible."This has facilitated the more pro-active funding dynamic which Ireland Aid can now apply to the Western Balkans and other regions in clear need of humanitarian assistance," she said.
Seventeen aid packages will be supported by today’s package including programmes in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Croatia in partnership with non-governmental and international organisations.
Support is also being provided for victims of human trafficking in Romania.
Ms O’Donnell continued: "This is a positive and logical progression of our earlier assistance to the Balkan region and shows that Ireland remains sensitive to the acute humanitarian needs of the region's vulnerable population. The fact that today's package includes support for emergency operations in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia illustrates how fragile the current peace is and the need for our continued support for conflict resolution and towards building a lasting peace."