U.S. Spurring On “Emerging Donors” in the Region

The U.S. seeks to promote additional international assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina by partnering with emerging donors in the region. Our Emerging Donor Challenge Fund program is dedicated to promoting U.S. foreign assistance coordination with emerging donor governments in Central and Eastern Europe. We view the partnerships created through the Fund as essential for the promotion of development in the region.

 

So far, the United States has been very pleased to partner with Romania and the Czech Republic. As BiH looks toward further European integration, these two countries are examples of successful transitions to market-driven economies and democratic societies, and they have both achieved membership in the European Union and NATO. 

 

On August 24, the nine prosecutors participating in the training
came to the U.S. Embassy for an orientation meeting
from the American and Romanian Embassies

In September, the U.S. helped to send nine BiH prosecutors to Bucharest, Romania, to meet with the National Anticorruption Directorate, the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering, the Court of Appeals and other institutions to learn about the successes and challenges Romania faced in prosecuting corruption cases. As a result of the visit, we expect that BiH prosecutors will better be able to apply what has worked well in the region to their own circumstances.

With the Czech Republic, USAID has initiated a project that will build the capacity of veterinary laboratories and inspection services in BiH to permit the export of products of animal origin to EU member states. The Czech experts can bring unique experience in EU integration and help address this critical problem. BiH is currently behind schedule to meet EU standards, especially for animal origin products such as milk, that will go into effect when Croatia becomes an EU member next year. We hope that this new assistance will quicken the EU certification process.

The U.S. recognizes the unique perspectives that the Czech Republic and Romania offer and will continue to partner with them in the economic and democratic development of BiH. We hope to encourage other Central and Eastern European countries to take active roles in the development of their neighbors in the Western Balkans, and we look forward to the day when the United States stands by BiH to support its leadership role as an “emerging donor.”