Assistant Minister Pjer Šimunović and Minister Advisor Dijana Pleština met with International Co-operation Director at Monaco’s Foreign Ministry

The meeting reviewed the possibilities of further strengthening the co-operation between Croatia and Monaco in the humanitarian field, namely within mine-action and mine-victim care projects. During its visit to Croatia, the delegation also visited the Kopački Rit Nature Park, as well as the site of the Center for Psychosocial Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Child Mine Victims in Rovinj, for the building of which Monaco has donated around $400,000.

As a country that has lived through a war, Croatia is well-aware of the post-war difficulties and long-lasting consequences of mines. According to the Croatian Mine Action Center, there are more than 250,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in Croatia, strewn over more than 1150 square kilometres of mine-suspicious land. After the war, there have been 2112 mine victims, many of them children and youngsters.

This was the reason behind founding the Center for Psychosocial Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Child Mine Victims, which will house mine victims from the entire region. The Center will feature workshops that will allow children to socialise with their peers informally, as well as activities directed at strengthening their self-confidence. The building of the Center largely depends on domestic and foreign investments.