Japan's donation for Serbia's flood recovery

Japan's donation for Serbia's flood recovery

The Japanese donation is dedicated to repairing and equipping pre-school institutions in Ub and Obrenovac, and a health-care center in that Belgrade municipality that was the worst affected by the floods that hit Serbia in May this year.

Japanese Ambassador in Belgrade Masafumi Kuroki noted that at the donor conference that was held in Brussels in July, the Japanese government pledged to give a donation of EUR 5 million for Serbia's flood recovery.

This donation of EUR 166,000 is the first part of the promised funds, Kuroki said, adding that Japan will continue to give support to schools, kindergartens, nursing homes.

Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar and Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srđan Verbić thanked the embassy, government and people of Japan for having stood by Serbia, especially when the country was hit by the severe floods.

Lončar said that the Embassy of Japan decided that the facilities of public importance such as schools, kindergartens and health-care centers should be a priority in the recovery process. “Major funds were needed for the repair of the facilities,” he said, noting that several facilities in Obrenovac, Krupanj and other places sustained severe damage.

Belgrade Mayor Sinišsa Mali, presidents of the municipalities of Obrenovac and Ub, Miroslav Čučković and Darko Glišić respectively, attended the signing ceremony.

Since 1999, Japan has given over EUR 10 million in aid to Serbia through 169 projects for meeting the basic needs of the population - 70 in the field of education, 66 in the health-care sector and 33 in other fields, while the total aid in that period exceeded EUR 460 million.

The Japanese government- whose main fields of interest are health-care protection, education, social protection and environment, offers financial assistance for carrying out projects that will contribute to Serbia's economic and social development.