Manama: Two bridges funded by Kuwait were inaugurated in Krupanj, in the Macva district in the eastern part of Serbia.
The two bridges were financed by the second tranche of a Kuwaiti donation to Serbia following the devastating floods of September 2014, and the declaration of a state of emergency in a bid to save people’s lives.
The special ceremony to open the bridges was attended by Kuwait’s Ambassador Yusuf Abdul Samad and Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Director-General Abdul Rahman Al Awn, Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.
KRCS supervised the implementation of the humanitarian project.
Addressing the ceremony, the ambassador said that the project “reflects the depth of the friendly relations between Kuwait and Serbia.”
One of the two bridges was named “Serbia-Kuwait Friendship Bridge” in recognition of Kuwait’s humanitarian role, he said.
The ambassador congratulated the residents on the completion of the project, saying that it would greatly facilitate traffic in the area.
Al Awn said the construction process was both “of high-quality and transparent.”
In his speech, Ivan Isailovic, the mayor of the town, expressed gratitude to Kuwait for the generous donation.
“Without the contributions of Kuwait and other friendly countries, the reconstruction of the town would have taken up to 30 years,” he said.
Isailovic said he hoped for steady cooperation with Kuwait, particularly on investment and tourism.
The director of the Office for Assistance and Rehabilitation of Flooded Areas, launched by the Serbian government on May 22, 2014, in the wake of the floods, thanked the Kuwaiti government, the embassy and the KRCS for their role in the post-disaster rehabilitation process.
The first tranche of the Kuwaiti donation had been used to finance the construction of 25 housing units for the displaced families in Obrenovac two years ago, he said.
