01.03.2023.

Minister Vučević sees off plane carrying Serbia's humanitarian aid to Syria

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević has been to Belgrade's "Nikola Tesla" Airport to witness the dispatch of a shipment of Serbia’s humanitarian aid to Syria.

The Air Serbia plane will transport the first shipment containing about six tons of food and provisions to the areas that have been most affected by the earthquake in Syria.

On that occasion, Minister Vučević said that he was proud of our country and all the citizens who had responded to the appeal for emergency assistance for the people who had been affected by the horrible earthquake that we had all witnessed.

- Unfortunately, we often forget that nature is stronger than any human power, and this is a strong reminder for all of us. Today we are focused on helping our brothers, friends in the Syrian Arab Republic. Acting in accordance with the directives from the President of the Republic, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has organized the delivery of the first shipment of food for the war-ravaged Syrian people who have now been stricken by yet another tragedy - this terrible earthquake. I would like to thank his Excellency, the ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to Serbia, for helping organize this humanitarian relief. This is only the first shipment consisting of just short of six tons of food, and the ambassador has told me that over 100 tons of food have been collected so far for Syria alone, and I believe that in collaboration with Air Serbia and other carriers, we will be able to organize the transport of what the Syrian people need the most in the coming days and weeks - said Minister Vučević.

The Minister of Defence expressed his hope that the situation regarding payment transactions with Syria will be addressed soon, so that the Government of the Republic of Serbia can donate funds and thus show that we stand in solidarity with the people in need.

- We really sympathize with all of them. I was proud to hear from the ambassador that a large number of ordinary Serbian citizens came to the embassy and donated what they had, those were not large sums of money but they were given from the heart. And you can see that people want to help, our people have a big heart and a pure soul, and we should always keep that and be proud of it. We want Syria and Turkey to recover from this earthquake, we want people to return to their homes, we want their houses, apartments, schools, kindergartens, hospitals to be rebuilt, and life to return where it was interrupted by the earthquake - said Minister Vučević.

According to him, the aid will be sent from Damascus to the north-western part of Syria and other areas which the Syrian government deems in most urgent need of help.

- Thank you to everyone who has participated, to the government and private companies, to every citizen who has contributed to this relief. I call on everyone to continue to help, thus showing that Serbia has a big heart and is willing to help everyone - stressed Minister Vučević.

The Syrian ambassador to Serbia, Basem Jaman Agha, expressed his gratitude to the Republic of Serbia and its officials for the aid, which would help the Syrian people in these difficult times.

- I would like to thank Minister Vučević in particular for his close cooperation and making sure that the aid reaches the Syrian people. Here we can see parcels and provisions going directly to the airport in Damascus, and there will be more in the period to come - said Ambassador Basem Jaman Agha, thanking once again the citizens of Serbia for their solidarity and compassion in these difficult times.

The CEO of Air Serbia Jiří Marek said he was pleased that his company was taking part in the relief effort whose aim was to deliver humanitarian aid to the earthquake-affected Syrian people.

- Organizing flights to Damascus at the moment is an extremely complex task. However, Air Serbia’s extensive experience in organizing repatriation and evacuation flights has helped us a lot – said the CEO of Air Serbia.