The Office of the French Embassy to BiH will be closed on September 1, and the reason is exclusively financial in nature.

The Embassy says that the Office in Banjaluka is no longer as needed for funds to be allocated for it, and all competencies will be transferred to the Embassy in Sarajevo.

“The reason for the closure is exclusively financial in nature, since funding is being reduced,” said staff at the French Embassy, noting that the Office was opened in 1998 for the sake of simplifying contacts.

The French Embassy said that the French Cultural Centre will continue its operations in Banjaluka; it will soon get bigger premises and increase staff, and will continue to enable Banjaluka citizens to establish contacts and bond with this European country.

The Office of the German Embassy in Banjaluka will also be closed on September 1, which, according to German ambassador Joachim Schmidt, is the result of a necessary consolidation of the state budget and in no way has a political background.

“The competencies of this Office will be transferred to the German Embassy in Sarajevo, and German organisations such as GTZ, DAAD, but also the Fridrich Ebert Foundation, will remain in Banjaluka,” Schmidt told