This year the Croatian government has supported projects by organisations of Croats living in European and overseas countries with HRK 3.5 million (€473,000), or 1.2 million (€162,000) more than in 2018, the Central State Office for Croats Abroad says.

Compared with last year, the number of supported projects increased from 46 to 71 and the number of countries where the aid was allocated rose from 16 to 21.

The projects covered different areas and activities and their common objective was to foster Croatian identity and boost cooperation between Croatia and its diaspora.

The HRK 3.5 million has been shared among organisations in 21 countries, and most of the awarded projects were are Germany (12), Austria (11) and Canada (10). The awarded funds will be reimbursed this and next year, as permitted by the budget.