A new wing at the Dr Fra Mato Nikolic Hospital in Nova Bila, Bosnia, co-financed by the Croatian government, was opened on Wednesday by the head of the Croatian National Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, the hospital's director Velimir Valjan, and Croatia's state-secretary at the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Zvonko Milas.

The hospital is being reconstructed after it had been destroyed during the 1990s war.

“This is the strategic interest of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of Croatia when it comes to its relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Covic said, thanking Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for the support for the construction of the new hospital wing.

“Together we are promoting living standards wherever Croats live because Bosnia and Herzegovina is our home, particularly here in central Bosnia,” Covic added.

Milas, who attended as Prime Minister Plenkovic's envoy, underscored that the construction of the hospital is very important for the survival of Croats in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He announced that support for the Croats in that country would continue.