13 November 2018 - On November 13, 2018, the President of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Vlastimir Golubović, was presented with the Danube Charter for the contribution of connecting people, ideas and markets of the Danube region.
This award was presented at the 7th Danube Business Forum in Novi Sad, Serbia, which brought together high-ranking officials, including the Minister of Economic Development of Slovenia, Zdravko Počivalšek, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the regional chambers of the Region, the national coordinators of the Danube Strategy in the governments of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and numerous other participants in the field of politics, economics, diplomacy, culture and the media.
The Danube Business Forum is dedicated to the Danube Strategy in the role of business in achieving its goals, strengthening prosperity and more efficient use of potential.
The topic of the plenary session of the Forum was "The Danube Strategy, Positive Experiences and Expectations", while the panels discussed smart cities, media in the aspects of objectivity, creative criticism and sensationalism, the regions as bridges of integrative processes, business and prosperity, the importance of science for the development of agriculture, agro-industry and concepts of smart villages, medicine and pharmacy, and transport and logistics as a great opportunity for Serbia.
President Golubović said that the Danube Charter is a great honour, especially since its work on developing regional cooperation has been recognized and awarded in the year of the jubilee when the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro celebrates nine decades of work.
Golubović emphasizes that the Danube Forum should send a message that the implementation of the Danube Strategy and the achievement of its objectives is not possible if the business community does not become involved actively in its implementation. This applies in particular to countries that are in its border zone and which, like Montenegro, do not coordinate any priority areas. “Therefore, it is my opinion that the chambers of the member states should establish a working body to discuss common issues and create an institutional network for the preparation, application, and implementation of joint projects financed through the Interreg - Danube Transnational Program," the President said.
The Chamber of Economy of Montenegro is currently implementing two cooperation projects from this program, while the priorities of the Danube Strategy are the following: "improving the mobility and multimodality of road, rail and air traffic", "support for sustainable energy development", "support to improving the competitiveness of enterprises, including the development of clusters" and "the development of society through research, education and information technology".
“We need to give special importance to projects in the field of digitization, which is the main driver of change and progress. Reduction in operating costs, free and unlimited access to the global market, and digital innovation are the advantages that the digitalization of markets brings to small economies, ”concluded the President of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro.
