Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support international development projects in the Western Balkans to (a) facilitate peace and reconciliation, (b) strengthen democratic institutions, and (c) tackle corruption.

The UK supports peace, democratic governance and the rule of law across the Western Balkans. We invested over £30 million last year in work to empower women and girls, tackle the drivers of conflict, and build resilience to hostile state threats. We also support anti-corruption bodies, political finance reform, and police and judicial institutions, including through targeted UK expertise and partnerships. We supported the Srebrenica Memorial Centre to establish a globally relevant centre for genocide research and prevention, as well as a regional hub for reconciliation and inter-ethnic dialogue. Through the International Security Fund, we provided £13 million last year to strengthen judicial and prosecutorial independence, parliamentary and regulatory oversight, election integrity and women's political participation. Our Foundations for Stability Programme will invest £10.5 million from 2026 to 2029 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, addressing conflict legacies, strengthening trust between communities and enabling civil society to work across ethnic and political divides.