Turkish aid agency carried out 850 projects in Bosnia

The Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has carried out about 850 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995, the agency's local coordinator, Omer Faruk Alici, has told Anadolu Agency.

Alimci said that there are a variety of areas in which TIKA carries out projects such as in health, education, infrastructure, etc. in Bosnia and Herzegovina where people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds live together.

In particular, TIKA provides employment opportunities for people with economic projects.

In 2017 alone, TIKA has completed 60 projects in various fields including common historial heritage and economic development for hundreds of people.

Alici said TIKA's projects are in line with the needs and priorities of the Bosnian state and its people.

"The main goal is to carry out more development-based projects [...]," said Alici.

In the field of agriculture, TIKA donated 420 sheeps to 20 families, greenhouses to 80 different families, and 6,000 walnut seedlings to 105 families.

"Many factories are closed, so our main goal is to reduce the unemployment rate of 40 percent. We are carrying out these projects in order to remedy it," said Alici.

As well as carring out projects to support the country's economic development, TIKA also focuses on historical heritage and education.

Many training programs in different fields of health were also carried out, as well as restoration projects of Ottoman-era mosques, bridges and monuments.

TIKA was established in 1992, Turkey's government-run TIKA agency is responsible for implementing the country's developmental cooperation policies overseas.

The agency offers aid to more than 40 countries around the world.