The Contract for construction 270 apartments for refugees in Belgrade has been signed in the Conference Hall of the Belgrade City Council, under the fifth sub-project of the Regional Housing Program of the Republic of Serbia. The agreement was signed by Siniša Mali, Mayor of Belgrade, Vladimir Cucić, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration and Goran Kvrgić, director of "JUP Research and Development", Belgrade.

Ivica Dačić, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Commission for Coordination of Permanent Refugee Integration of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, said thousands of families are expecting to get home through the Regional Housing Program in Serbia.

"We must have this on our minds and make every effort to finish the job. Regional housing program in Serbia is in full swing, and in 2016 we expect progress in the implementation, " Dačić said.

Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali said the Regional Housing Project of the Republic of Serbia is of great importance to the most vulnerable refugees in Belgrade.

"Total investment in RHP is worth 17.3 million euros which will provide 1,000 housing solutions for the same number of refugee families. It is up to us to make efforts to finish those homes as soon as possible", Siniša Mali said, adding that the City of Belgrade has already invested significant resources in the implementation of these projects by donating land and infrastructure.

Oskar Benedikt, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, said the European Union helps Serbia and the region to overcome the consequences of the conflict in the nineties. As a major partner of the Regional Housing Program, the EU donated 230 million euros to help to provide sustainable housing solutions for the remaining refugees.

"We are pleased that the City of Belgrade will provide about 1,000 housing solutions for 2,700 vulnerable refugees," Benedict said.

Vladimir Cucić, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, said that in Serbia is under way five sub-projects within the Regional Housing Program.

"We work hard, and we will do our best to make the required job finish as soon as possible", said Commissioner Cucić.

Regional Housing Program (RHP) is a joint multi-annual program of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, which aims to provide permanent housing solutions for some of 27,000 most vulnerable refugee families, or about 74,000 people in the region. Out of this number, 16,780 families are in Serbia (about 45,000 people).

Regional housing program of the Republic of Serbia has being implemented with the support of the OSCE and UNHCR,  funded by the European Union, the largest donor, the United States, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.