Slovenian Ministry of Defence and ITF Sign a Grant Contract

Ljubljana, 25 May 2016 – The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia Ms. Andreja Katič and ITF Director Ambassador Damjan Bergant signed the 2016 grant contract in the amount of 190,000 EUR.

Through the provision of this donation the Ministry of Defence will contribute to the effective and smooth implementation of ITF’s mine action and conventional weapons destruction projects and programs, especially in Southeast Europe. Humanitarian mine action and other types of post-conflict assistance implemented by ITF strengthen human security and promote socio-economic development of countries contaminated with mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). With the support provided by the Ministry of Defence to ITF, Slovenia will be able strengthen its profile as a donor in the field of mine action and broader development aid.

The Ministry of Defence is, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, one of the founders of ITF that has in 18 years of operations raised more than 340 million EUR of donations for the implementation of a variety of programs and projects. Out of these almost 10.5 million EUR was provided by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia through different ministries with regular annual donations.

The Ministry of Defence alone contributed slightly less than 5.7 million for ITF and its projects. The Ministry also endorses ITF in other less tangible ways, demonstrated in, for instance, the recent visit of the Minister to ITF’s Headquarters. With this support ITF will continue to assist communities and individuals in post-conflict areas with the greatest needs.