Development cooperation between Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Transcription

1 Development cooperation between Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina SWEDEN

2 The objective of Sweden's development cooperation with BiH is to contribute to democratic, equitable and sustainable development as well as to support reforms aiming at EU accession. The cooperation focuses on three areas: -Democracy, human rights and gender equality, covering the development of central and local administrations aimed at better service delivery of public institutions to meet citizen rights, meeting the requirements of EU integration and providing continued support to democratic actors; -Market development, with a focus on economic growth and job creation through improving the conditions for growth for small and medium-sized companies to increase their competitiveness as well as improving trade through building a quality infrastructure that meets EU demands; -Sustainable infrastructure, with a focus on an improved municipal environmental infrastructure for water supply, sewage treatment and waste management. Sweden provides approximately 20 million of grant funding per year to BiH, mainly to public sector partners, but also to the civil society and the private sector. In addition there are funds via loan schemes of international finance institutions and a guarantee scheme. Since 1994, Sweden has provided almost half a billion euros (4 billion SEK) in development assistance. SWEDEN During the first 10 years after the war, the focus of the cooperation was on peacebuilding and reconstruction, particularly on providing housing for returnees, where approximately houses has been rehabilitated with Swedish funding. Since mid-2000 the focus of the cooperation has been on improving the rule of law, building an effective and modern public sector and preparing for EU accession. 1

3 Democracy & human rights Development cooperation in this area includes support to reform of the public sector, strengthening of human rights and the rule of law, improved gender equality and support to civil society. Sub goals for this sector include: 1) Improvement of the public administration at central, cantonal and local level with the ability to meet both European integration and citizens' demands and the emergence of a more pluralistic society with strong democratic actors are goals for this area; 2) support to the strengthening of the judicial system as well as resolving human rights violations from the war; and 3) strengthening gender equality and civil society. In total there are 12 major contributions valued at 61 million (June 2012). Examples of major programs are: Project (GAP) GAP works in 72 municipalities. The main project components are: 1) Technical assistance to municipalities to improve their services and budget, finance, procurement, personnel, customer and economic development capacities; 2) Technical assistance to promote policy advocacy at State and Entity level to improve the legal, regulatory and financial conditions for municipalities; 3) finance small investments in public infrastructure. This project is financed by Sida, USAID and the Netherlands : 26.5 million ( 7.8 million from Sweden) Public Administration Reform The PAR Fund contributes to the implementation of the PAR strategy to improve public sector efficiency. The strategy focuses on the following areas: administrative capacity building, policy-making and coordination capacities, public finance, human resources management, administrative procedure, information technologies and institutional communication : 6 million ( 3.1 million from Sweden) Association of Municipalities and Cities Capacity building of the Associations of Municipalities and Cities in the Federation and in the Republika Srpska. The objective is to: 1) strengthen and institutionalize the AMCs, strengthening their independency, mandates, and accountability to their constituencies; 2) develop strategies, enhancing capacities to act as democratic, legitimate, transparent, effective and sustainable institutions; 3) bridge the current lack of in-house expertise : 1.4 million 2

4 Judicial Efficiency Project The project aims at improving the efficiency of courts in general and will target inefficiency in the processing of civil cases in the country's first instance courts in particular : 3.7 million Kvinna till Kvinna (Women to Women) The objective is increased respect for women's rights, enhanced democracy and a sustainable peace in BiH, by contributing to strong and sustainable women's organisations and women's movement. KtK works with civil society development, focusing on women's advocacy on peace and security, work against domestic violence and on increased participation and decision making by women. KtK provides capacity building and funding to local NGO:s and projects : 2.3 million Fund for Implementation of Gender Action Plan FIGAP is a government program which supports activities and projects that support the gender law and the Gender Action Plan. Expected results are gender sensitive policies, legislation, institutions, budgets and projects across the public administration. The project is co-financed by Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina : 3.1 million ( 1.7 million from Sweden) International Commission for Missing Persons ICMP works on locating and identifying persons missing as a result of the war during the 1990 s. The results are important for courts, for relatives and for dealing with the past : 1.7 million In addition to the main support programs above Sweden supports the following projects: Capacity Building for Land Administration, Capacity development at Ministry of Finance at State and entity level for effective management of public investments, Monitoring EU integration process, State Court and State Prosecutors Office, Justice for Children, State prison, Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), Gender Master Program, and Municipal Training System. 3

5 Market development Development cooperation in this area aims at creating a competitive private sector with a focus on development of small and medium sized businesses to boost economic growth and create more jobs. The focus of the support is on sectors with growth potential i.e. the metal industry, wood & furniture industry, tourism, agriculture and plastic industry. The development efforts try to stimulate product development, market access, innovation and access to capital. This area also supports trade facilitation and the development of a quality control structure in the country to facilitate export to the EU. In total there are 7 major contributions valued at approximately 23 million (June 2012). Examples of major programs are: Fostering Interventions for Rapid Market Advancement (FIRMA) The purpose of the project is to support enterprise competitiveness in selected value chains of the tourism, wood, and light manufacturing sectors of BiH, in the process advancing the country's ability to meet the Copenhagen Economic Criteria for accession to the European Union. To support sustainability, the project works primarily through a group of key local implementing partners, known as the "FIRMA Consortium", who cover all regions of the c o u n t r y. F I R M A i s a l s o supporting three "cross cutting" areas that are important for enterprise competitiveness: access to finance, workforce development and EU standards : 17 million funded by USAID and Sweden ( 5.4 million from Sweden) Fostering Agriculture Market Activity (FARMA) FARMA is a four year project jointly financed by USAID and Sweden. The overall objective of FARMA is to increase sustainable economic growth and improved efficiency and competitiveness of BiH agricultural producers and agribusiness enterprises. FARMA will assist BiH agriculture producers and processors to improve their ability to withstand pressures emanating from the EU accession process, and also to enable agribusinesses to capture opportunities in domestic, regional and EU markets rising from activation of CEFTA and the EU accession process : 11.3 million ( 5.4 million from Sweden) 4

6 Competitive Regional Economic Development (CREDO) Herzegovina The overall objective is to increase competitiveness and growth of SMEs in the selected sectors in the Herzegovina region. The project aims to support creation of at least 50 new jobs and to formalize and/or sustain at least 150 jobs in companies and sectors included in the interventions. In addition, at least 6 municipalities will introduce or improve their economic development tools in order to more successfully manage local economic development : 2.3 million Quality and regulatory Infrastructure Development for Food safety and Quality The objective is to adapt the national food safety systems to the international requirements of the EU and WTO, respecting both organisations' requirements for safety of food and principles and practices for international trade in food and foodstuffs. By adapting to the EU and WTO requirements BiH can gain access to new export markets for agricultural goods, thus improving the potential for economic growth : 1.7 million In addition to the main support programs above Sweden supports the following projects: Guarantee Facility with USAID Development Credit Authority, the Agriculture and Rural Development Program, implemented by the World Bank, Improving Investment Climate and Institutional Strengthening, Investment Climate Programme, South East Europe Women entrepreneurship program and a regional heart surgery program. 5

7 Sustainable infrastructure The main objective is to enhance environmental infrastructure services provided to BiH citizens in the sub-sectors of Water, Wastewater treatment and Waste Management. The support aims to fulfill EU directives, leading to environment and health improvements. Sweden's main approach is to co-finance loan interventions with grant funding, used for softening loan conditions, technical assistance for feasibility studies, reforms and capacity building. In total there are 7 major contributions valued at approximately 31 million (June 2012). Solid waste management The project aims at increasing human and technical capacity for s o l i d w a s t e management in a number of BiH municipalities, on improving the legal framework for waste management and on implementing public awareness campaign. Approximately 30 municipalities will improve their waste collection, the service quality and economic viability. The campaign will be implemented by the entity ministries of environment, coordinated by the state Ministry for Foreign Tradeand Economic Relations : 11.2 million 6

8 Municipal waste-water treatment program The Project concerns establishment of cofinancing arrangement for wastewater municipal infrastructure projects with the European Investment Bank, with the main components: a) institutional capacity building of approximately 35 waste water utilities in the areas of operational efficiency and sustainability b) selective investments to the 6-8 waste water treatment facilities : 13.6 million (matching EIB funding of 110 million) In addition to the main support programs above Sweden supports the following projects: Waste water treatment Mostar, a Biodiversity project, Master Education in environmental infrastructure (2 programs) and a credit financing of waste water treatment projects channelled via a Sida regional facility. Useful links: *Photos: Pg.8 Pipi Longstocking - source private from exhibition 2007 Pg.7 Malmberg water - source imagebank Sweden Other photos: source private or retrieved from publicly available sources on www 7

9 Contact: Embassy of Sweden Ferhadija Sarajevo Tel.: Fax: Pelle Persson Counsellor, Development Cooperation Tel: Democracy & human rights Jonathan Francis First Secretary Tel: Mario Vignjević Programme Officer Tel: Market development Nataša Miskin Programme Officer Tel: Nedim Bukvić Programme Officer Tel: Sustainable infrastructure Katica Hajrulahović Programme Officer Tel: Slavenka Perković Controller Tel: Asa Trulsson Business for Development Focal Point Tel:

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