Japan Donates 271,029 EUR for ITF Activities in BIH

At the signing ceremony in Sarajevo, H.E. Mr Hideyuki Sakamoto, Ambassador of Japan in BIH said Sakamoto said that although more than 20 years have passed since armed conflicts in BIH, mines pose a serious threat to the security of the population, and this prevents the country's social and economic development. He emphasized that demining is a complex and demanding task that requires close cooperation between different parties. He stressed that by implementing the project in 2019, 225,400 square meters on 4 project task locations in Vitez will be returned to the local population for safe use.

Amb Lovrenčič, ITF Director, expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan, who has been supporting humanitarian demining projects in BIH for many years. Since 1999, Japan contributed over 3.6 million EUR (4.3 million USD) through ITF for various mine action activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With donations by Japan, almost 2.5 square kilometers (2.479.341 square meters) were cleared so far in Bosnia and Herzegovina, removing 601 explosive items (347 mines and 254 UXO).

Since 1996, when the mine suspected area amounted to 4.200 square kilometers, the overall mine suspected in BIH has been reduced to currently 1.018 square kilometers. ITF’s goal is to reduce this area below 999 square kilometers by the end of 2019, which would be a great achievement.

The project is co-financed by the U.S. Department of State.