International donor meeting on aid for Serbia opens

BELGRADE - An international donor meeting called to assess ways of helping Serbia deal with the massive damage caused by catastrophic floods and assisting reconstruction in the country opened in Belgrade on Thursday with a minute of silence for the flood victims.

Opening the meeting, Serbian Minister without portfolio for European Integrations Jadranka Joksimovic said that the government aims to inform officials of countries, international institutions and creditors that have been active so far in providing official development aid to Serbia of the scale of the floods.

Our goal is to inform international donors of the government's intentions and plans for overcoming the consequences of the floods, and assess possibilities for international aid for Serbia over the medium term, Joksimovic said.

Also discussed at the meeting will be future steps by the Serbian government and international development partners aimed at implementing measures towards the country's recovery and coordinating joint activities, she said.

Diplomatic officials of 27 European countries, the US and Asian countries, as well as officials of the EU Delegation to Serbia, the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, the OSCE and the German Development Bank are attending the meeting.

Photo Tanjug - Sava Radovanovic