The Japanese government has donated €3.8 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen its capacity for the fight against illegal migration.

During an official visit to Sarajevo on Saturday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turkovic signed an agreement activating an earlier approved grant of JPY 500 million to provide necessary equipment for the Bosnian security agencies responsible for border and migration management.

The aid will be used for the purchase of vehicles for the border police service, the service for foreigners’ affairs, and the police services of the country's two entities – the Serb entity of Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, Turkovic said.

In the years following the 1992-1995 war, Japan was one of the biggest donors supporting post-war reconstruction and development projects in the country. Japan is also a permanent member of the Steering Committee of the Peace Implementation Council, which oversees compliance with the Dayton peace agreement.

Turkovic said that Motegi had reaffirmed his country's support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton agreement.