Fund-raising conference due in Brussels on July 16

BRUSSELS - A major donor conference to raise aid for the flood-hit population in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) will be held in Brussels on July 16 and a number of officials from Europe and the world confirmed their attendance at the event.

The Serbian delegation will be headed by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and the delegation will also include president's advisor and former minister of foreign affairs Ivan Mrkic.

The attendance has been confirmed by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak, as well as Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek, Tanjug learnt from diplomatic sources in Brussels.

The conference should also gather high officials from Russia, the U.S. and Japan, as well as representatives of international organisations and private companies. The conference will take place in the Charlemagne building in the centre of the European quarter in Brussels which can host over 400 people.

For now, it is certain that EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele will attend the conference as EU commissioners are due to hold a plenary session n Strasbourg on the same day.

The conference aims to raise funds for removal of the consequences of catastrophic floods that hit the Western Balkans in May, and caused particularly severe damages in Serbia and BiH.

Photo Tanjug/S. Ilic (archive)