Cities and municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are establishing a Diaspora Service.

The central theme of the summit was the establishment of an institutional Diaspora Service for Bosnia and Herzegovina at local levels, which would enable systematic and long-term connection with citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina living and working around the world.

The President of the Bosnia International Forum, Hasib Hadžić, reminded attendees of the importance of such an approach, emphasizing that local communities play a key role in this process.

"Institutional strengthening of the relationship with the diaspora, as our country's greatest resource, starts from local communities, because most of the daily needs and interests of people around the world concern and originate from local levels and environments of origin. Therefore, we are building the Service for the needs and interests of the diaspora precisely through local communities, and at this moment, 30 municipalities and cities are signatories to the Memorandum of Cooperation," said Hadžić.

A key tool for implementing this initiative is the Diaspora Connecting platform, which involves creating an interactive global map of business entities and individuals originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This platform aims to enable efficient networking of the diaspora, as well as direct connection and communication among all relevant stakeholders.

The special significance of the Summit was further confirmed by the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation, through which participants took a concrete step toward institutionalizing this idea and implementing it in practice. In addition to the diaspora theme, the focus was also placed on utilizing European Union funds through local communities. Specifically, participants discussed ways to improve access to EU funds, and the implementation of education, training, and collection of project proposals was announced to involve local entrepreneurs, associations, and others.

Organizers believe that the Summit of Mayors and Municipal Leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina is gaining significance year by year and that an increasing number of local communities recognize its value.

As they concluded, results are already visible through the implementation of various economic, social, and cultural projects.