Serbia to purchase 20 pieces of real estate for diplomatic purposes – Property in Washington, Sarajevo, Canberra and Skopje first in line

Serbia should soon buy buildings for its embassies in four capitals, namely, Washington, Sarajevo, Canberra and Skopje, thereby leaving behind its tenant status and steep rents, Novosti reports.

According to the daily, the plan is also for Serbia to purchase a total of 20 pieces of real estate throughout the world in the next 10 years, to be used for diplomatic purposes.

In Australia, B&H and Macedonia, Serbia already has four properties, but they mostly require serious reconstruction and are not used for the purposes of Serbian diplomatic and consular offices.

The idea is to sell those pieces of real estate that belong to Serbia, but are not used, and to invest the money in the purchase of usable facilities in which Serbian diplomats would find a permanent home.

A similar plan should be implemented regarding the money received in the process of succession of the former SFRY property, that is, for the sale of those buildings and apartments that neither of the states wanted to inherit, the daily adds and cites the example of an apartment in New York's Fifth Avenue, estimated at USD 1,8 million, of which Serbia should receive nearly a million dollars.

Novosti specifies that, in Canberra, Serbia owns a residence, a plot of 1,422 square meters and a building of 516 square meters, “whose book value has been estimated at RSD 38.3 million”, but that those structures have been empty for years.

On the other hand, Serbia rents around 750 square meters for the embassy and the residence in the city.

Serbia also has a plot of 960 m2 and a building of 900 m2, worth RSD 127.8 million, in Washington as well, but they are not used, as considerable amounts of money need to be invested in the reconstruction. On the other hand, Serbia pays rent for around 700 m2 of the embassy and the residential home.

In Skopje, Serbia owns only the pre-fabricated facility Besko, where the consular department is located, and around 1,000 m2 is rented for the purposes of the diplomatic and consular office in the city.

When it comes to B&H, Novosti reports that Serbia has real estate in Banjaluka only – a general consulate and an apartment of around 1,500 square meters worth RSD 54 million, and that it rents around 700 square meters for the embassy and residential purposes.