Norway sets aside more funds to help with flood recovery

Norway sets aside more funds to help with flood recovery

BELGRADE -- Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende announced on Monday that his country would allocate an additional EUR 2 million to help Serbia after the floods.

Brende is on a two-day visit to Serbia, where he is meeting with top officials.

"It is our duty to be there for you in these times of need. For that reason we will donate EUR 2 million to support the economy and help those most at risk," Brende told a press conference after meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić.

Norway is adding this sum to the initial aid of EUR 3.3 million.

Dačić "thanked Norway for the great help in the past, and especially for the aid following the recent flooding," Tanjug reported.

He said Norway was a country Serbia shared good, stable and sincere relations with and one of the biggest donors to Serbia.

Political level visits have intensified, but economic cooperation should improve, Dačić said, stressing that foreign trade was relatively low and stood at only EUR 36 million.

The ministers said the meeting touched on relations between Belgrade and Priština, the situation in Ukraine, Serbia's European integration and regional relations.

Brende, whose country is not an EU member, said that Norway supported Serbia's EU integration bid and voiced confidence that the road to the EU and eventually membership of the Union would promote economic growth and development and bring about positive reforms.

The Norwegian foreign minister invited Dačić to visit Norway and expressed the view that the visit would be a step forward in strengthening partnership between the two countries, and Dačić extended...