BRUSSELS, April 13 (Reuters) — The international aid conference for Bosnia ended on Saturday having more than achieved its target of raising $1.2 billion for the remainder of this year, the European Commission and the World Bank said.
"The international effort to rebuild Bosnia and Herzegovina moved forward today when representatives of 50 counties and 30 international organizations pledged to provide $1.23 billion in new commitments," a statement issued after the two-day conference said. Diplomats said earlier that $1.28 billion had been pledged.
The funds are intended to "meet the external financing requirement for reconstruction and economic recovery throughout the war-torn Balkan nation during the balance of 1996," the final statement said. At an earlier conference in December donors pledged $600 million bringing the total funds available to more than $1.8 billion for 1996 alone.
Lawrence Summers, deputy U.S. treasury secretary expressed himself satisfied with the outcome. "This conference has been very successful, and our contribution made a significant contribution to that," Summers told reporters.
The United States pledged $219 million more for this year, adding to the $62 million it promised at the first Bosnia aid conference in December.
The World Bank and the European Commission have calculated that $5.1 billion will be needed over the next four years to start repairing the estimated $50 billion dollars of war damage in Bosnia.
European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek, closing the conference which he described as a show of solidarity with Bosnia, said: ``Today's job is done and we feel it was done successfully.''
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