On June 27, the Mayor of Trebinje, Mirko Ćurić, and the UNDP Resident Representative in BiH, Steliana Nedera, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation within the "Via Dinarica" project, which will contribute to the sustainable development of tourism and local economic development.

By signing the Memorandum, Trebinje has become one of the 20 cities from Bosnia and Herzegovina participating in the "Via Dinarica" project, which promotes the development of local communities and small businesses at the local, national and international levels in the field of hospitality, services and tourism, as well as agriculture and cultural heritage.

The Mayor of Trebinje said that the "Via Dinarica" project will also help remediating the consequences caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, especially in the field of tourism.

"The focus of today's conversation was tourism and agriculture, and I am glad that, in the coming period, significant grant funds for this area will be implemented through the UNDP", added Mayor Ćurić.

The UNDP Resident Representative in BiH, Steliana Nedera, pointed out that the "Via Dinarica" project is very important for all local communities participating in it, because, in addition to their promotion, it also contributes to better networking of entrepreneurs, and thus better promotion of their services and products. She said that the UNDP will pay special attention to green recovery and digital transformation, as well as support to the private sector in the recovery from the consequences of the new coronavirus.

"I invite private companies to contact UNDP, because we have planned certain activities to help overcome the consequences of the Covid-19," Nedera said, thanking USAID and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation for their support in implementing the “Via Dinarica” project.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, Staša Košarac, said that the "Via Dinarica" project includes the promotion and support of tourism and rural areas, which will significantly contribute to the remediation of the consequences caused by COVID-19. Košarac said that this is also a support to the City Administration in the development of tourism, commending Trebinje on initiating the development of a tourism strategy.

The USAID Director for BiH, Nancy Eslick, said that the United States will provide emergency assistance to BiH in the amount of about USD 2.2 million to remediate the consequences of COVID-19.

"Via Dinarica is one of the projects that can help remediate the consequences of the new coronavirus," said Eslick.