Address of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic at a ceremony to hand keys to 30 apartments to refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia under the Regional Housing Program (RHP) – Subproject 4:

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It gives me great pleasure to address you at this ceremony where we jointly mark a new beginning for thirty refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia who are about to move in their new homes in Loznica, under Subproject 4 of the Regional Housing Project
Under this subproject a total of 1.382 housing units will be constructed. So far, half of that number i.e. 787 including 30 apartments we are going to hand over today, had been completed. I am pleased that in addition to this apartment building where we stand today two more buildings are under construction in Loznica with 30 more new flats each. This means that 90 refugee families will be given homes in Loznica.

The contribution of local self-governments to this effort is immense since they are giving away the land and providing necessary infrastructure for the new apartments. That is why we also owe a debt of gratitude to Mayor of Loznica Vidoje Petrovic.

As I did before, I will emphasize again today that refugees from the territory of former Yugoslavia, after more than 20 years of life in refuge, deserve to live in safety and dignity. In that sense, the resolution of the refugee problem represents the highest moral obligation of the state and the international community. We fulfil this obligation in a consistent and responsible manner along with our partners, and more importantly, with good results in this respect. I note with pleasure that apartments are being built on more than 40 locations throughout Serbia: in Nis, Novi Sad, Stara Pazova and other places. I am especially satisfied that we shall soon be in a position to hand over new apartments in Negotin and Kladovo.

The implementation of the Regional Housing Program is a long-standing, difficult and complex process but not an impossible one, as we can see today. That is why I thank our partners who contributed to its development and progress – European Union, United States of America, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Hungary and many other donors. The support of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and OSCE is of special importance while the role of the Council of Europe Development Bank is crucial to the management of the RHP fund.

Dear friends,

The hardships you were exposed to cannot be erased or embellished. What had been lost or left behind cannot be returned. Still, I wholeheartedly hope that from this day onwards your future and memories will bring happiness to your lives.

Finally, it is a great honor for me to be here today and share with you the joy of a new beginning. I hope that Loznica where you will find new homes will give you a good and happy life you all deserve.

Thank you.