18 March 2021

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selaković met today in Drvar with mayors of Glamoc, Bosansko Grahovo, Drvar and Istocni Drvar municipalities, as well as with the President of the Municipal Assembly of Bosanski Petrovac, with whom he discussed resolving capital and everyday problems of citizens.

On that occasion, the Head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that the Republic of Serbia would help the budget, that is, fiscal consolidation of the municipality of Drvar with EUR 530,000, and that these assets would be used for a specific purpose. "That is good news, especially for people who live in Drvar. In this way, we have demonstrated once again that today, when the economically strengthened Serbia has and earns more, it is ready to share with those who need it the most, and especially with members of our Serbian people, in those territories where life is hard, where it is not easy to survive and where every help is more than appreciated, but also more than apparent as it arrives", the Minister said and pointed out that Serbia would continue to help its people. Selakovic pointed out that our country was in a position to help owing to serious and difficult austerity and fiscal consolidation measures, which it started to implement in 2014, when President Vucic became Prime Minister, and continued to do so in 2017, when he came at the helm of the Republic as President, and that Serbia, especially in the previous three years, was in a position to help Serbian returnee municipalities more extensively.

The Minister explained that the assistance concerned, on the one hand, the financing of capital projects, that Serbia participated in the co-financing or full financing of various projects such as the renovation of schools, cultural centers, outpatient clinics, as well as the construction of kindergartens and hospitals. What Serbia did for almost every municipality in the Republic of Srpska, the Minister pointed out, it tried to do in the same way in majority Serb municipalities in the Federation of BiH as well. Minister Selakovic also emphasized that there was talk of connecting Istocni Drvar and Drvar by building a proper asphalt road which is something a large number of people circulating between the two municipalities missed, which were once part of the single municipality of Drvar.

"Today, I had the opportunity to hear greetings and expressions of gratitude to President Vucic and Serbia for what has been done so far. For example, in Bosansko Grahovo, the elementary school "Gavrilo Princip" was renovated. A serious reconstruction has begun of the Cultural Centre in the downtown area, which has been in ruins for a quarter of a century - 25 years. The construction of a memorial home in the birthplace of Gavrilo Princip, in Obljaj, is also planned", Selaković said and added that the reconstruction of the Cultural Centre in Glamoc was completed, as was the city's public lighting, and that investments would continue in the construction of a sports hall, which will enable carrying out altitude sports preparations there, as was possible some thirty years ago. Furthermore, the Minister pointed out that they discussed specific assistance that would be earmarked for people who are engaged in agriculture in the municipality of Bosanski Petrovac, as well as the renovation of schools and school infrastructure in the territory of that large western Bosnian municipality. Selakovic also said that the interest in specific investments had grown, such as the opening of a "Yumco" company plant, which was inaugurated by President Vucic and Serbian Member of the Presidency Dodik, and that there were specific proposals from other municipalities, where they believed that the Republic of Serbia could help. Selakovic underlined that a joint meeting of representatives of Serbia and Srpska with representatives of chambers of commerce was planned for the end of the month.

The Minister pointed out that at that meeting, to be held in Drvar, they would discuss concrete interventions when it comes to the economic development of those municipalities and that all possibilities would be considered as to how Serbia and Srpska could help, by joining forces with their chambers of commerce, the Serb returnees stay there and persevere. "We will continue these efforts and I am convinced that in the future you will be able to meet with the Director of the Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region much more often here and that through specific projects in preschool, school education and cultural activities, we will be able to, as the Office for Diaspora of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provide assistance in a much more specific and extensive way than it was the case so far", the Minister underscored.

The Mayor of the municipality of Drvar Dusica Runic pointed out that the EUR 530,000 assistance provided by the Republic of Serbia would secure financing for the public kindergarten, founded by the municipality. "It was agreed that Serbia continues to help the municipality of Drvar. This time, it is not about specific infrastructure projects, but about the consolidation of the budget of the municipality of Drvar, which supports a large number of public institutions and kindergartens. Salaries for the staff of "Majka Hrabrost" public kindergarten will be covered owing to the help of the Republic of Serbia", Runic said.

Selekovic pays respects to the victims of the Defense Patriotic War 1991-1995

By visiting Drvar, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic brought to an end his official two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having met with mayors of the municipalities of Drvar, Glamoc, Bosansko Grahovo and Istocni Drvar and the President of the Municipal Assembly of Bosanski Petrovac, Minister Selakovic visited the Memorial to those killed in the Defense Patriotic War of 1991-1995.

Selakovic laid a wreath at the memorial monument in the shape of an Orthodox cross, on which the names of 300 fallen fighters and civilian victims of the war in the municipality of Drvar were engraved, thus paying tribute to the victims of the patriotic war. In Drvar, the Serbian Foreign Minister also visited the reconstructed premises of the Emergency Ward of the Health Center, for which the Serbian Government provided about EUR 230,000.

The rooms and the heating system were reconstructed in the Emergency Ward, full emergency room equipment was procured, including a digital x-ray machine. On the first day of his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Selakovic met with his BiH counterpart Bisera Turkovic, BiH Council of Ministers Chairman Zoran Tegeltija, RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu and President of the Republic of Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic. Yesterday, he visited the Old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo and met with Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia, while this morning he visited the Serbian cemetery in that city and laid a wreath in at the Vidovdan Heroes Chapel where the remains of Gavrilo Princip are kept. On the second day of the visit, Selakovic also met with Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Milorad Dodik, Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic.

Source: Tanjug