LONDON – According to the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson will announce today that the he UK will “commit 10 million pounds to help build digital skills and employment prospects for young people in the Western Balkans” and a further 1 million pounds for adressing legacies of the past, including identification of victims of the wars of the 1990s.
According to the UK foreign ministry, the funding will see the British Council provide training to children in over 4,500 schools in order to bolster digital literacy and core skills across the region.
As the press release states, “by providing access to a digital education, this funding will help foster the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, both in the Western Balkans and UK.”
The UK foreign ministry also announced that The Foreign Secretary will “reiterate the UK’s commitment to the Western Balkans by announcing an additional £1 million to help the region address difficult legacy issues of the past”
According to FCO, this includes “working to find and identify the 12,000 victims still missing from the conflicts of the 1990s.”
The foreign secretary said that “this new funding demonstrates the UK’s enduring commitment to the Western Balkans region” and that it “shows our desire to help the region overcome some of the most difficult chapters in their history and pave the way to an even more prosperous future.”
The London Western Balkans Summit, the fifth Summit of the Berlin Process, takes place on 9-10 in the UK capital.