Japan donates to schools and healthcare centers

Japan donates to schools and healthcare centers

The signing of the contract in the Serbian government was attended by Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srdjan Verbic and Healthcare Minister Zlatibor Loncar.

The funds from the donation to the Radoje Domanovic primary school in Paracin, central Serbia, will make room for the reconstruction of the heating system to the total value of EUR 54.480, while the donation to the Borivoje Z. Mitrovic school from Krupanj in western Serbia would be used for reconstruction of the hot water system and replacement of windows and doors to the total value of EUR 66,000.

The donation will make room for the reconstruction of the school gym in high school Mladost in Petrovac na Mlavi, eastern Serbia, to the total value of EUR 46,111.

Also, the Krupanj healthcare centre will receive a fully equipped ambulance vehicle and X-ray device to the total value of EUR 78,000, while the Ub healthcare centre in central Serbia will get an X-ray with accompanying devices to the total value of EUR 61,950.

After the signing of the agreement, Ambassador Kuroki said that the total value of the five projects adds up to EUR 306,941 and that the grants constitute the continuation of assistance for the areas hit by floods last spring.

He said that the government of Japan last year ensured grants for two pre-school institutions, two gerontology centres and one more healthcare center.

Kuroki expressed the hope that the grants would help recover and improve the conditions for learning and provision of medical services and contribute to normalization of life for citizens of these municipalities.

He underscored that the Japanese government decided on February 3 to give a grant to Serbia via UNDP to the total value of USD 3.64 million so as to strengthen the readiness and capacities of the municipalities in the defence from accidents, adding that detailed information about the assistance would be released soon.

Japan will continue supporting the government and municipalities in Serbia both in terms of recovery from last year's floods but also in the preparations to prevent such occurrences in the future, Kuroki said.

Minister Verbic said that the government of Japan launched almost 200 projects and donated funds in the sectors of education, healthcare and social protection in 1999, and that the assistance is more than welcome and is immeasurable.

Healthcare Minister Zlatibor Loncar said that the equipment and vehicles that will be delivered to healthcare institutions in Krupanj and Ub would contribute to higher quality and faster provision of medical protection to the citizens.

The assistance provided by Japan is always precious and timely and there are no words enough to express just how much we appreciate and respect the assistance, Loncar said and added that the Ministry and Embassy of Japan have been successfully realizing joint projects for a long time now.

The Japanese government supports improvement of education and medical protection in Serbia through donations and including the donations, the total value of assistance provided by Japan through projects aimed at basic needs of the population since 1999 totals over EUR 10 million, while the total Japanese assistance to Serbia in this period adds up to over EUR 460 million.

The signing of the Contract on the donation in the Serbian government building was attended by Paracin Mayor Sasa Paunovic, Petrovac Mayor Radisa Dragojevic, Krupanj Mayor Rade Grujic and Ub Mayor Darko Glisic.