Address by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic, at a ceremony to deliver apartment keys to refugees in Temerin as part of the implementation of the Regional Housing Program in the Republic of Serbia:

"Dear guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

Our journey to shaping a better and more carefree future for the families of our compatriots who fled the territory of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the war of the 1990s, continues today, right here in Temerin.

I am honored to be given the opportunity today to deliver keys to apartments built under the Regional Housing Program - Subproject 4, for a total of twenty families. In doing so, we will try to at least partially make up for the pain in losing your homes, thus opening the door to a more peaceful future for all of you.
Aware of the importance of successful implementation of this project, which will change many lives, it is my duty to mention and thank those who made it happen.

The Regional Housing Program - Subproject 4, implemented in cooperation with the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and Local Self-Government, managed by the Mayor of Temerin Djuro Zig, is worth EUR 18.6 million, of which EUR 16.6 million is donor funds, while EUR 2 million represents the national contribution of the Republic of Serbia.

This Subproject envisages construction of apartments in 13 cities, and in some of them, such as Arilje, Zrenjanin, Loznica, Kladovo, Negotin and Vrnjacka Banja, we have already distributed the keys to our fellow citizens.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia participates in the Regional Housing Program with a total of EUR 25.3 million, with most of the funds being invested in land and related infrastructure in local self-government units where refugee apartments are being built. The subprojects also provided funds to address housing needs of more than 7,000 refugee families. The total grant amounted to EUR 127 million.

This program would not be possible without the European Union, which is the largest donor to the Regional Housing Program, without the Council of Europe Development Bank which distributes and allocates funds to our compatriots, as well as without the United States and other bilateral donors, and therefore I thank them all profoundly.

25 years later, 20 Serbian families have the opportunity to move into their apartments, here in Temerin, and start a new phase of their life, moving towards the same, more peaceful future that families from all the cities mentioned above are heading to.
I wish you with all my heart to enjoy your new homes in years and decades to come and to celebrate your family holidays, birthdays and all other happy moments in them!

Long live Serbia! "