Agreement on Cooperation between the Council of Ministers of BiH and NGOs in BiH Signed

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Zvizdić and representatives of non-governmental organizations in our country signed today at the building of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in Sarajevo, the Agreement on Cooperation between the Council of Ministers of BiH and non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The signatories of the Agreement committed to dedicating all their capacities towards building a prosperous, fair, open, pluralistic and democratic society in BiH. In addition, the signatories confirmed their commitment to cooperation towards fulfilling the conditions for full membership of BiH in the European Union (EU).

The Agreement, which seeks to create the necessary political framework for strengthening participatory democracy in BiH, corresponds with EU requirements and BiH's needs for transparent creation and implementation of public policies within the competence of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

It was adopted at the session of the Council of Ministers of BiH on September 26, 2017, preceded by four public debates with non-governmental organizations in Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka and Bijeljina, organized with the support of the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society, as well as online consultations with the interested public via the website www.ekonsultacije.gov.ba, and with BiH institutions.

- The Council of Ministers of BiH will continue with activities aimed at further development of transparent procedures for financing programs and projects of non-governmental organizations from the budgets of ministries and bodies of the Council of Ministers of BiH, which contribute to more effective articulation and implementation of public policies within the competence of the Council of Ministers of BiH - stated the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić.

Non-governmental organizations will, in the interest of the public, users of their programs and projects, and donors, transparently manage public and other donor funds, and develop self-regulation mechanisms that contribute to this practice.        

- Cooperation of government institutions with non-governmental organizations, as well as with the interested public, is one of the fundamental values of democratic societies. Our goal is to include all levels of government in BiH in processes of transparent and functional dialogue with citizens and non-governmental organizations - stated on that occasion the Ambassador of the United States of America to BiH Maureen Cormack.

- Functional dialogue with non-governmental organizations, as well as citizen participation in the process of creating and implementing public policies, is an important element of the European integration process. Today, when BiH, i.e., its institutions are finalizing responses to the European Commission Questionnaire, this Agreement has even greater importance - added Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH.

The Agreement was realized with the technical assistance of the EU-funded project „Building the capacity of government institutions in engaging in political dialogue with representatives of civil society in BiH.“