Germany Donates Half a Million KM for Ammunition Destruction in BiH

Dr. Christian Hellbach, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Ms. Zahira Virani, Acting Resident Representative of UNDP in BiH, signed an agreement today in Sarajevo for the allocation of funds for the UNDP project “Urgent Action on Ammunition Destruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina“. The representative of the BiH Ministry of Defence at this ceremony was Deputy Minister Boris Jerinić, reports the Patria News Agency.

More than 15,000 tons of surplus ammunition are still located throughout the country, partly under unsatisfactory conditions. By allocating an amount of nearly 250,000 euros, the Federal Republic of Germany is making a significant contribution to overcoming this problem.

These funds are intended for the destruction of over 5 million rounds of ammunition, for the improvement of ammunition incineration plant infrastructure, as well as for the training of relevant personnel.

This German donation is also an acknowledgment of the progress made by the BiH Ministry of Defence in addressing surplus weapons and ammunition. In particular, the establishment of the “Strategic Committee for Weapons, Ammunition and Explosive Ordnance“ in 2013 is considered an important step towards better coordination of domestic and international efforts regarding the destruction of surplus weapons and ammunition.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expresses its gratitude to the Federal Republic of Germany for joining forces with the EXPLODE project, funded by the European Union, as well as with other international partners operating within the Master Plan in this area. This financial support provided to the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina will further strengthen domestic efforts towards faster and more efficient destruction of surplus ammunition and weapons.

UNDP also welcomes the decision of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian institutions to drastically increase the annual destruction quota from the previous 880 tons to 2300 tons in 2015. They are thus demonstrating continuous commitment to overcoming this serious threat to human security.

In addition, the Federal Republic of Germany has been supporting the OSCE project “SECUP“ for improving the security of ammunition depots since last year, with a total amount of 183,000 euros to date.

Beyond all this, Germany has been actively involved in humanitarian demining for many years. To date, over 28 million euros have been made available for these purposes.

Germany will continue to help make Bosnia and Herzegovina a safer country, it was announced from the German Embassy in BiH.