GTZ has been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since 1995. The focus is on sustainable economic development, democracy and civil society. We have been supporting the implementation of reforms aimed at closer integration with the EU since the federally structured state was established in 1995.

Achieving national consensus among the ethnic groups is proving to be a long and difficult process. The country’s division into ethnic territories – the Muslim/Catholic Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the predominantly orthodox Republika Srpska (RS) – is impeding the development of a unified economic and financial policy. This results in complicated organisational structures and time-consuming bureaucratic processes. Economic recovery is very slow owing to the uncertain investment climate for national and foreign companies. The government’s declared objectives are the transition from a centrally managed economy to a competition-based market economy, domestic stabilisation and the country’s economic integration into the EU. These therefore form the framework for technical cooperation. In its programmes and projects across the geographical and ethnic divide, GTZ is making an internationally recognised contribution to development, thereby promoting regional stability. Successful results from the cooperation between the two countries have emerged across the board in these activities.