Serbia to receive USD 1.8 mln donation from UN

BELGRADE - Serbia is to receive USD 1.8 million worth of financial assistance from the UN in the coming days, the UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia Irena Vojackova-Solorano said on Tuesday, noting that the money has been obtained from the Central Emergency Response Fund and that it is just the first part of the assistance.

Since the onset of the disaster in Serbia, the world organisation and the Red Cross have been providing assistance in distributing aid, and now they are using their own resources and offering expert assistance, Vojackova-Solorano told a press conference at the UN Office in Serbia.

Vojackova-Solorano said that the donation is a joint undertaking of many UN agencies that is coordinated by the Serbian government Office for reconstruction and aid for flood-hit regions, headed by Marko Blagojevic.

Blagojevic said that the UN was among the first to respond and that Serbia is grateful for the quick assistance.

"At the moment - in cooperation with the UN, the World Bank and the European Union - we are working on collecting information that will be summarised in a single document to quickly establish the needs that have arisen in the wake of the floods," Blagojevic said.

The report will be used to obtain funds from international donors in order to deal with the consequences of the floods, he said.

"It is good that we have partners in all corners of the world that we can count on and rely on in the situation that has befallen us," Blagojevic said, adding that the report will also reveal the causes of the floods.

Asked how much money the Office currently has at its disposal, Blagojevic said that the funds available exceed EUR 20 million, and that the amount can be seen on the...