Pancevo Mayor Borislava Kruska and the UN’s HABITAT Belgrade office chief, Lucia Ramirez, have signed a document outlining the implementation of a housing and social integration program for refugees in Serbia. The project concerns Pancevo and seven other Serbian towns and has been valued at €15 million.
On behalf of the donors, the Italian and Serbian governments, the project was signed by the first secretary at the Italian Embassy in Belgrade, Valeria Biagiotti, and Serbian Assistant Minister of Capital Investment Vladimir Milic.
The project for housing and sustainable integration of refugees stems from the Serbian government’s commitment to tackle the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons. This is also outlined in the national strategy for resolving the issues of refugees as well as in the poverty reduction strategy.
The project has three parts, the first of which refers to housing (the building of 670 apartments in seven Serbian cities). The other two components of the project deal with socio-economic measures to help refugees and the underprivileged and the creation of conditions for further development of local communities.
The same agreement was also signed in the town of Nova Pazova today.