10 April 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković hosted Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Eldar Hasanov. The meeting noted that Montenegro and Azerbaijan could further enrich their excellent political bilateral relations with stronger economic cooperation and more investment in tourism, but also energy and infrastructure.
"Montenegro has made a huge step forward in the overall progress. We have been NATO member state for two years now, we have progressed far in the negotiations with the EU, and we are strongly committed to economic growth and development issues," PM Marković stressed.
Furthermore, he pointed to important economic parameters - a growth rate of 4.9 percent in the previous year, a steady increase in revenues, an increase in the number of employees by 12,000, a decrease in unemployment by six percent, and added that the industry grew in the previous year.
"I sincerely congratulate you on this result," Ambassador Hasanov said, adding that Azerbaijani investors are interested in new investments in tourism resorts as well as in infrastructure strengthening projects.
The meeting discussed the most significant investment from Azerbaijan in Montenegro - Porto Novi, which will give a new quality to the tourist offer of Montenegro.
The Ambassador particularly appreciated stability and security in Montenegro and praised its constructive role in the region.
The two countries recently introduced that direct flight between Montenegro and Azerbaijan should be available soon. During this occasion, President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev agreed that it was essential to discuss and encourage the introduction of direct flights between Montenegro and Azerbaijan and to abolish visas between the two states.
“Successful implementation of the ‘Portonovi’ project represents the result of high level of trust that exists at the highest and all the other levels of the government,” Aliyev noted.
Montenegro is also actively cooperating with Azerbaijan in the field of culture and the latest meeting which took place in Baku in October 2018 discussed the cooperation in the field of cultural heritage, having in mind that Montenegro is interested in the candidacy of Ćilim from Bihor to the UNESCO’s Best Practice List. Considering that Baku has a Carpet Museum, on this occasion Minister Bogdanović stressed that Montenegro finds the exchange of experiences in this area critical since the tradition of Azerbaijan’s Carpet is registered on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
