Minister Grabar-Kitarović received WFP Executive Director James Morris

Minister Grabar-Kitarović said she believes this visit will facilitate an even closer co-operation between Croatia and WFP. Given Croatia’s post-war experience, Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out Croatia’s readiness to increase its current humanitarian and development aid, in accordance with the needs and Croatia’s capacities. She added that Croatia, as an EU membership candidate, will be guided in determining its geographical and thematic priorities by the EU principles and the experience of its members.

Executive Director Morris presented the activities of WFP, the world’s largest international organisation for delivering humanitarian aid in food, with the 2004 budget of $ 2,9 billion and numerous voluntary contributions. WFO is one of the main UN agencies dedicated to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. Its activities include: Crisis area operations, extended humanitarian operations, special and development operations, offering assistance to victims of natural disasters (draughts, earthquakes, tsunamis), refugees and displaced persons, groups stricken by hunger and poverty, and women. WFP is renowned as being a highly efficient agency, specialised in supplying, logistic operations, and transport of goods, that co-operates closely with other UN bodies and agencies, governments and nongovernmental organisations, and holds partnership relations with the EU. It recently started sending humanitarian aid to Lebanon, involving other UN agencies, governments and NGOs, providing for more than 800,000 people. WFO includes countries that offer aid in food and those that only receive it.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that Croatia is aware of the importance of the realisation of the UN Millennium Development Goals ¹. She mentioned that in 1999, Croatia sent to WFP a one-time humanitarian aid in food for the crisis area of Kosovo and Macedonia. The project was realised by the MFAEI Directorate for International Economic Co-operation. In 2005, Croatia offered humanitarian aid for the tsunami victims and the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. As for more recent activities, Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out the Croatian Red Cross’ financial contribution to Lebanon, emphasizing not the political, but the humanitarian nature of the action. She added that an interdepartmental working group for humanitarian aid and development policy has been established, headed by MFAEI State Secretary for Organisation, Development, and Management Željko Kuprešak.

1) The Millennium Development Goals are: Milenijski razvojni ciljevi su: 1. Erradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2. Achieve universal primary education; 3. Promote gender equality and empower women; 4. Reduce child mortality; 5. Improve maternal hhealth; 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7. Ensure environmental sustainability; 8. Develop a global partnership for development.