Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović received today the Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ankica Gudeljević on the occasion of the donation of the COVID-19 vaccines to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gudeljević said she was happy to be able to attend the official hand-over ceremony for the vaccine donation made by the Croatian government to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-This gesture made by the Government of Croatia towards Bosnia and Herzegovina in these difficult times and donated 30,000 doses of vaccine for the needs of vaccination of priority groups of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is very important- said Gudeljević.

The vaccine will be distributed by donating 15,000 doses to the University Clinic in Mostar and another 15,000 to the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina's population.

Božinović said that with this gesture they want to show determination and readiness to help, first of all, the neighbors, so that this whole process of fighting coronavirus would be as successful as possible.

-When we talk about the fight against COVID, no country has the luxury of fighting alone, because it is a global pandemic. Effective implementation of vaccination is actually the only way out of the epidemic. I am glad that our colleagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina have recognized the importance and responsibility in terms of ensuring the availability of vaccines to their citizens- said Božinović.

Through the Mechanisms of the European Union, the Republic of Croatia, together with the other Member States, represents significant donors of vaccines through the COVAX system. The commitment made globally amounts to 2.2 billion vaccines during 2021, of which just over 1.3 billion doses should be distributed among 92 countries in the world that have lower or middle average per capita income.

At the last European Council, an ad hoc decision was made on an additional 100 million doses that the European Union will provide to the countries in its neighborhood.

-I would like to once again thank the Government of Croatia and all those who contributed to the realization of this donation. It is of great importance for all who live in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is proof of our friendly relationship, and the Republic of Croatia has shown that it takes care of its neighbors- Gudeljević concluded, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of B&H announced.