Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken to help support peace and stability in the Western Balkans.

HMG is working closely with our NATO Allies, including the US and European partners, to support security and stability. In February, the Western Balkans Prime Ministers and Ambassadors were hosted in London for talks on strengthening our economic and security partnerships, including cooperation on resilience and cyber. In April, the Government used its Bosnia and Herzegovina autonomous sanctions regime for the first time, sanctioning Bosnian-Serb politicians Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic for their attempts to undermine the legitimacy and functionality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Government has announced plans to extend our offer of honest and reliable infrastructure investment to the Western Balkans, and aims to mobilise £80 million of UK-backed investment by 2025. This will reduce dependency on Russian hydrocarbons and accelerate the transition to renewables. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Sir Stuart Peach, is also engaging extensively across the region, working alongside our US and European partners to reduce the risk of conflict.