WASHINGTON, March 4 (Hina) - In 2005 the United States will provide aid worth 20 million to Croatia within a programme of assistance to foreign countries in the next year.
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Hina) - In 2005 the United States will provide aid
worth 20 million to Croatia within a programme of assistance to
foreign countries in the next year.#L#
The programme of assistance to South-East European democracies (SEED)
envisages funds for Croatia totalling 20 million, to be used for the
strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law,
including cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague,
reads the draft document of the State Department, which was on the
agenda of the Senate's committee on foreign affairs on Tuesday.
The document states that Croatia will not be given aid from funds for
the financing of foreign military forces and their training in 2005
because it has not signed an agreement on the non-extradition of US
citizens to the International Criminal Court.
The document nevertheless envisages aid for military training
amounting to 50,000 dollars if Croatia signs the agreement.
The SEED programme is oriented towards providing technical assistance
to bodies of local administration, political parties, trade unions,
media and NGOs. It will also continue providing aid for the promotion
of competitiveness in the private sector through the strengthening of
small businesses and creation of jobs in the agriculture sector, reads
the document.
Assistance to Croatia in 2005 will be reduced by five million dollars
in relation to 2004 and by 10 million in relation to 2003.
After 2006, the State Department will stop providing such assistance
to Croatia because it believes that by that time Croatia will be a
stable democracy no longer in need of such help.
Speaking about the draft programme on foreign aid, Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Elizabeth Jones said that
assistance to Central and East European countries and the former
Soviet Union had resulted in multiple benefits for the United States.
Those countries support the priorities of the foreign policy of the
United States and are important partners in the global fight against
terrorism, she said.
Jones said that 24 of the 27 transition countries which had received
US assistance actively supported the US operation in Iraq and/or
Afghanistan, including Croatia.
The United States has also secured 690,000 of aid for Croatia for
export and border control training
to prevent the spreading of weapons of mass destruction.
(Hina) rml