EC announces donor conference for Serbia, BiH

BRUSSELS - A donor conference under the motto “Rebuilding Together” will be held in Brussels on July 16 in order to mobilize further support for Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) after the severe floods that hit the countries in May, the European Commission, which will host the event, announced on Friday.

The objective of the conference, co-organized by France and Slovenia, is to raise funds for the recovery of Serbia and BiH.
The conference will contribute to stepping up cooperation over floods and natural disasters in the region, as well as
operational coordination, reads the release issued by EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele.

According to the agenda, the conference will be declared open by Fuele, Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Chairman of the BiH Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic will then address the present.
During the conference, three movies about the dramatic floods in BiH and Serbia as well as the international response will be shown in the conference room, and the closing statement will be delivered by EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Kristalina Georgieva.

International donor countries, international financial institutions, and relevant civil society organizations have been invited to the conference, the release notes.

The European Commission, France and Slovenia place a high priority on the economic recovery of both countries, the release underlines.