First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic attended, with a number of foreign officials, the beginning of the Regional Housing Programme in Serbia, in Stara Pazova today.

Minister Dacic, as Chairman of the National Regional Housing Programme Steering Committee, together with Commissioner for Refugees and Migration Vladimir Cucic, EU Ambassador Michael Davenport, Principal Deputy Assistant US Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Simon Henshaw, Vice-Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, special Representative of the OSCE Chairman for the Western Balkan Gerard Studman and the Head of the UNHCR in Serbia Eduardo Arboleda attended the signing of the agreement with the representatives from nine municipalities for the construction of buildings of the second wave of the Regional Housing Programme.

Serbian Foreign Minister pointed out in his speech that Serbia would continue to work, with undiminished enthusiasm, on the implementation of the RHP and, at finding solutions in the RHP context for almost 17,000 families in Serbia.

"Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to be able to address you on the occasion of the beginning of the implementation of the Regional Housing Programme in Serbia.

To the Republic of Serbia, which has been carrying for more than two decades the heavy burden of displacement as a consequence of conflict in the former Yugoslavia, this is an important day. Out of more than 500 000 refugees, who have found shelter in Serbia in the 1990s, some 44 000 are still registered as refugees in our country and most of them come from the Republic of Croatia.

Excellencies,

Serbia is aware of the fact that the solution of so serious problems requires both time and true commitment. In order to put an end to displacement, it is necessary to ensure cooperation between the countries of origin and of refuge, as well as the readiness to find equitable and sustainable solutions to all open issues.

These are precisely the principles to which the Republic of Serbia adheres in the settlement of the refugee problem by providing full support, from the very beginning, to the Sarajevo process, the inseparable part of which is also the Regional Housing Programme. Bearing in mind the needs of refugees and the necessity of enjoyment and protection of their rights, we have persisted in our efforts to keep the Sarajevo process alive even when it seemed unlikely that progress will be made. At the same time, within the limits of our possibilities, we constantly strove for the promotion of the rights of these people in need. The fact that most of them have been locally integrated in Serbia is an undeniable proof of it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Delivery of construction material packages to refugee families and the signing of contracts with them that we are witnessing today are initial concrete results of many years of our joint efforts within the RHP.

I hope that the realization of other sub-projects submitted to the Development Bank by Serbia will follow soon.

I believe that we have overcome all administrative barriers and that we shall be able to focus our attention on the implementation of projects in the future.

I firmly believe that Serbia has proved to the international community and the donors by its consistence that it is a partner worthy of their trust and, more importantly, that it is worthy of the trust and faith of the families that the RHP is intended for. As Chairman of the National RHP Steering Committee, I wish to assure you that Serbia will continue to work, with undiminished enthusiasm, on the implementation of the RHP and at finding solutions in the RHP context for almost 17 000 families in Serbia.

Nevertheless, I would like to recall that the financial resources needed for the RHP implementation have not been available in full and that our concerted efforts to ensure the lacking funds lie ahead of us. Let me remind you, the Sarajevo Donors' Conference pledged half of the EUR 584 million needed for full implementation of the RHP.

Distinguished guests,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank once again our development partners and donors for the assistance they have provided so far. The start of the RHP implementation would have been impossible without their invaluable contributions. I am particularly pleased that many of you are present here today, sending a clear message to refugees that they have not been forgotten despite their protracted displacement.

And last but not least, I would like to point to the importance of the expert support of UNHCR, OSCE, and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, which see to it that the RHP fulfils optimum expectations.

I hope that our future cooperation, just like this small but important step, will show that our common efforts can help contribute to a better future for all those in desperate need of assistance.

Serbia counts on you in this respect."