Bošnjak and Szijjártó Sign Memorandum – 150 Scholarships for Students from BiH Until 2028

The Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubravka Bošnjak, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, signed today in Budapest a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation under the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme for the period 2026–2028.

The signing of the Memorandum further confirms Hungary’s continuous support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path. As a member of the European Union, Hungary strongly supports reforms and integration processes in BiH. Educational cooperation represents one of the most concrete ways to strengthen ties, promote knowledge exchange, and develop human resources that will be key to the future development of the country in the European context.

The new phase of cooperation includes the continuation of one of the most significant international education programmes, which has for more than a decade provided young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina with the opportunity to study at prestigious Hungarian universities.

Highlighting the importance of the programme, Minister Bošnjak emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a large number of talented and motivated young people who achieve notable results in various fields of education.

"Students from Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly achieve success in fields important for social and economic development, including STEM, medicine, information technology, engineering, and agriculture. This Memorandum represents an investment in young people, their education, and professional development. The Stipendium Hungaricum programme provides young people from BiH with a high-quality opportunity to study in an international environment. We believe that the educational cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary will continue to strengthen in the coming years and deliver concrete results," stated Minister Bošnjak.

According to the Memorandum, Hungary will, over the next three years, provide up to 50 scholarships per year for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Hungarian or English. The scholarships cover free education at accredited universities, accommodation in student dormitories or financial support for housing costs, a monthly scholarship, health insurance, and access to library and research infrastructure.

Minister Péter Szijjártó thanked Minister Bošnjak for the cooperation to date and confirmed Hungary’s commitment to continue supporting the development of educational capacities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He emphasized the importance of investing in young people as a foundation for long-term stability and inter-state cooperation. "Hungary strongly supports the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress towards the European Union is of key importance. In this process, Hungary will continue to be a strong and reliable partner, recognizing the importance of equality, institutional functionality, and reforms that strengthen the country’s European path," stated Szijjártó.

Cooperation in the field of education between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary began in 2005 with the signing of the Agreement on Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation. Based on this agreement, the Educational and Cultural Cooperation Programme was launched in 2014, which later evolved into specific memorandums of understanding within the framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme.

Since 2020, the programme has been implemented continuously through multi-year memorandums, and the new document represents a continuation of the agreements concluded for the periods 2020-2022 and 2023-2025.

Since the academic year 2014/2015, more than 300 candidates from Bosnia and Herzegovina have applied for scholarships, of which 203 were awarded scholarships, while approximately 150 students have enrolled in or successfully completed their studies. We would like to remind interested applicants that the public call for applications for the Stipendium Hungaricum programme is currently open, and we invite all interested candidates to apply via the online platform: https://apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains committed to enhancing international cooperation in education and creating new opportunities for young people in our country.