28 December 2018 - On December 28, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, Aleksandar Bogdanović, and the President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad, Zorica Kovačevć, signed the Financing Agreement for the project "Adaptation of interiors and the repair of the facade of the Native Museum in Danilovgrad." This Financing Agreement represents a continuation of the implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation signed in March 2018. 

After the signing of the Agreement, Minister Bogdanović reminded that the Ministry continuously implements activities that contribute to the improvement of the cultural heritage in the entire territory of Montenegro, and that in the past period they implemented and financed numerous projects in the field of protection and preservation of cultural heritage in the area of the Municipality of Danilovgrad.

The President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad emphasized that this is the first adaptation and reconstruction of the building after a long period and that she hopes that all of Montenegro, and not only Danilovgrad, will get another significant museum that will contribute to the development of cultural tourism potentials. After the reconstruction of the Native Museum, a Contemporary permanent setting will also be installed.

It was concluded that the successful cooperation between the Ministry and Danilovgrad Municipality would be continued in the following period, as well as that many other projects will be implemented, all with the goal that the citizens of Danilovgrad and tourists have as much quality and diverse cultural contents as possible.

The Ministry of Culture has committed 130.000 EUR for the realization of the project, of which 75.000 thousand EUR is provided this year. The municipality of Danilovgrad will repair the facade of the Native Museum and adapt the interior of the museum. The deadline for the implementation of the Project is December 2019.

Native Museum was opened in 1960 and situated in the former house of Prince Nikola, which is mentioned in his correspondence with Russian diplomat Prince Gorčakovski from 1873. In that building, situated in the south part of the town, there was also the first teacher-training school in Montenegro, and from 1973 to 1979 high school ‘Petar I Petrović Njegoš’, too. After the earthquake in 1979, there is a permanent museum exhibition.

28 December 2018 - Tivat Airport’s new departure terminal with 1,300 square metres, that provides more comfort for passengers who can now enjoy bigger, better facilities and easier transition from airside to landside, was officially opened on Monday, December 24. With high-quality infrastructure and contemporary design, the terminal is expected to boost tourism and economic growth of Montenegro.

The newly built Terminal 2 of the Tivat Airport was opened by Prime Minister Duško Marković, who stated that this investment represents the much needed response to the airport infrastructure congestion, which is a consequence of intensive tourist growth and the increase in the number of passengers arriving in Montenegro.

As announced from the Government's Public Relations Service, the management of Airports of Montenegro has made a proposition to the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs and the Government to build additional facilities in Tivat and Podgorica, which can provide more comfort for passengers and functionality to airport services, especially during the tourist season. According to Marković, the Government accepted this proposal and about 3,5 million EUR was invested in this facility.

"In the following period, with the consent of the Government, the Airports of Montenegro should allocate another 2 million EUR for the new facility that will be built in Podgorica. The quality of the constructed building that we are witnessing today has already set certain standards for other companies that manage resources and infrastructure in the public interest in Montenegro," said Marković.

Terminal 2 at Tivat Airport covers 1.300 square metres, and it includes six check-in counters, two new lines for security screening as well as offices for representatives of airline companies. New capacities and improved conditions at Tivat Airport were the key points of the final agreement with the most important European company, the seventh on the world level, which will connect Montenegro with Frankfurt and Munich from April, Lufthansa.

The new facility of the departure terminal of the Tivat Airport was built in less than three months and was constructed by the Podgorica-based company “Fidija”. The value of the new facility with its equipment is about 2,2 million EUR. The new terminal was built on the northwest side of the current airport terminal building, and it was financed entirely by Airports of Montenegro.

December 28, 2018 - The priority and wishes of the Cetinje capital is the creation of new jobs, employment, and retention of young people, as well as creating the conditions for employees to take care of their housing, in cooperation with trade unions, institutions, and enterprises, said Aleksandar Kašćelan, Mayor of Cetinje, at the session of the Municipal Trade Union Committee.

As announced from the Capital, at the session, attended by the Secretary General of the Union of Trade Unions of Montenegro, Dusko Zarubica, it was estimated that the cooperation of local government and trade unions and social dialogue in Cetinje is at a high level and that they can serve others as an example. 

"Kascelan said that it is essential to create conditions for staying and employing young people, but also for workers who, due to rationalization or for some other reason, will be left unemployed. For such a thing, he said, the great opportunity is the area of the former Obod, which has been bought, but also the construction of housing facilities, not only for employees in enterprises that have large trade union organizations, but for smaller companies," the statement said. He also said that the reconstruction of the old Children's Hospital entered the annual development plan of the Capital City and that 300 thousand euros were foreseen for this purpose. 

"It is an important project for health care and the provision of a new set of health services for the citizens of Cetinje, but also for the citizens of the coastal and municipalities from the central part of the country who recognize the hospital "Danilo I" as a reference and their institution," the statement added.

The Mayor pointed out that tax discipline is significant for the functioning of Cetinje, but also for all the companies whose foundation took place here.

"This is particularly referred to taxes and contributions on earnings, which must be paid regularly because otherwise, they will not be able to pay the salaries. A special effort must also be made to servicing of the obligations from the previous period on this basis," Kascelan emphasized.

Text by CdM, on December 27th, 2018, read more at CdM

December 28, 2018 - The current economic situation recognizes entrepreneurship as one of the bases for solving the unemployment issue in Montenegro, and the project "Acquiring knowledge and skills in the field of career consulting, as a condition for launching an entrepreneurial idea" was an incentive for young people to realize their business ideas, it was assessed at a press conference by the Public Policy Center, which implemented the project with the financial support of the Ministry of Sports.

The Program Coordinator of the Center for Public Policy Srđan Čabrilo said that entrepreneurship of young people could significantly influence the overall economic development in Montenegro.

"Through the implementation of the project, the Center for Public Policy tried to contribute to further and additional promotion of the idea of youth entrepreneurship, but also to encourage the target group to launch entrepreneurial projects and ideas," said Čabrilo.

He said that this NGO created a publication, in cooperation with young entrepreneurs, whose stories should be an inspiration to other entrepreneurs.

"In the publication, we presented their successful business stories, through interviews about the beginnings, challenges they faced, family and society support, and plans for the next period. The publication is one of the key results of the project and aims to give all young people insight that with hard work and effort, every idea can be achieved," said Čabrilo.

He said that the young people involved in the project were proactive and motivated to participate in social and economic processes.

Advisor at the Youth Directorate in the Ministry of Sports, Andrea Popović, said that one of the priorities of the Youth Strategy and the Action Plan for 2018 was the economic and social security of young people.

"The Ministry of Sport encourages youth employment through the implementation of various measures and activities from the Action Plan for this year. By realizing the measures and activities from the Action Plan for 2019, and in cooperation with institutions and organizations, we will succeed in improving the position of youth in this area," said Popovic.

According to her, the adoption of the Action Plan for the next year and the adoption of the new Law on Youth will contribute to the improvement of youth support, as well as the establishment of new youth clubs and centers throughout Montenegro.

"Not only will we open them, but we will also strengthen the functioning of these, so that young people have the right address for conducting their informal activities, and therefore also to learn something useful," said Popovic.

She reminded that this department supported 89 projects this year, of which 17 related to entrepreneurship and youth employment.

Text by PR Center, on December 27th, 2018, read more at CdM

27 December 2018 - 3D Military Radar represents the most contemporary military devices that improve the function of a classic military radar. Detected information contains distance, direction and speed concerning the radar position.

If the available information includes distance and azimuth, it is 2D radar. If the height is present too, then it is a 3D Military Radar.

Ministry of Defense is planning to provide 3D Military radar for the supervision of airspace of Montenegro. The radar would be set up on Bjelasica, reads the long-term defense development plan for the period 2019-2025.

“This radar will enable full operation ability for generating the image of the situation of the airspace in Montenegro,” reads the document.

Military analyst Aleksandar Radić says that there were two options possible when it came to the analysis of the radar set-up: Vrsuta, near Bar, and Bjelasica.

“In the previous document, Vrsuta was a chosen location. However, meanwhile, an agreement with SMATSA was confirmed. Using this agreement, SMATSA will take the radar at its own expense, positioning it at Vrsuta hill and transferring the image to the operation center at the Airport in Golubovci that will be integrated into the NATO system anti-air and anti-racket defense. Therefore, SMATSA is buying three radars, two of them will be in Serbia and one in Montenegro. The one in Vrsuta will be civil, whereas the one set in Bjelasica will be a military radar,” explains Radić.

Provision of the radar in Bjelasica is a whole different story. As Radić says, there are two options.

“One option is a temporary delay of the purchase and borrowing the radar from  NATO or some other Member State. The other option is to start the purchase procedure as soon as possible. In this case, that will be more than €20 million. It’s an expensive investment especially considering that Montenegro bought three helicopters worth €30 million. That’s why we asked NATO to provide support in bridging the lack of resources. It’s still very uncertain, but the expert commission will decide what to do in that sense at the beginning of 2019,” says Radić.

The Ministry of Defence plans to spend 215 million EUR for procurement of equipment by 2028, while the investments will increase by 82% and in 2028 will amount to 145 million EUR, suggests the Defence long-term Development Plan 2019-2028.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

27 December 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković officially opened the newly-built Terminal 2 of the Tivat Airport – the first investment after the current Tivat airport building was built in 2006. The Prime Minister said that the cooperation between the Government and the Management of the Airports of Montenegro is an example that should be followed by others in the country. 

"The investment that begins its test work today is an urgent and indispensable response to the serious infrastructure congestion of the Tivat airport that came as a result of intensive tourism growth, and an increase in the number of passengers coming to Montenegro. It is this kind of attitude towards state goods that I want to see as the practice and action of responsible people. Notice the problem, make a decision and implement it. The Government will – just like in this, and any other case – stand behind such an approach," the Prime Minister stressed. 

PM Marković noted that the Airport Management proposed to the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs and to the Government to build additional facilities in Tivat and Podgorica, which in the short term can provide necessary comfort for passengers, as well as the functionality of airport services, especially during the tourist season. 

"The Government accepted this and around EUR 3.5 million was invested in this facility, and for the facility that will be built in Podgorica, the Airports will need to allocate another EUR 2 million with the consent of the Government," Prime Minister Duško Marković said.

Executive Director of the Airports of Montenegro Danilo Orlandić reminded the current terminal building was built in 2006.

"Twelve years later, Montenegro is a stable country, recognised and respected throughout the world and a member of NATO. That is why many renowned airlines have decided to travel to our country, the last of which is Lufthansa. New capacities and improved conditions at Tivat Airport were the key points of the final agreement with the most important European company and the seventh at the global level, which will connect Montenegro from April to Frankfurt and Munich, its main hubs. For the last two years, Montenegro was linked with 30 new destinations, the number of served passengers has increased by 600,000, and it was about time to increase our capacities," the Executive Director of the Airports of Montenegro highlighted.

A representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - the organisation that took part in the project - Miodrag Dragišić, said that Terminal 2 was built following the principles of energy efficiency: from facade materials and insulation, through modern equipment, modern air conditioning systems and ventilation, to lighting. 

"This will contribute not only to the comfort of passengers and staff, but also to the significant financial savings and environmental protection. It is imperative that next year, the energy management system will be established as part of the carbon accreditation process of the Airports of Montenegro. This will make the business more acceptable regarding climate change, and the Airports of Montenegro will be among the first in the region that recognised the importance of this international certificate," the UNDP representative said. 

Speaking about the advantages that will be achieved by investments in the Airports of Montenegro, Prime Minister Duško Marković said that the connection of Montenegro with the European metropolises, in addition to further improving the availability of Montenegro as a tourist destination, ensures better connection with citizens of Montenegro who have gone abroad to work or to be educated. 

"The direct lines to Vienna, Rome, Frankfurt, Ljubljana, Belgrade, Istanbul, Moscow, Zurich and Stockholm are important for maintaining connections with them," the Prime Minister said. 

He recalled that over the past years a lot has been done to ensure that air transport is not just a privilege of rich people. 

"We are proud to announce the beginning of Lufthansa lines to our airports, but nothing less important is the availability of many cheap flights to the cities of Western Europe. Our European integration is based and evolves on mobility, freedom of movement and economic exchange. That's why our airports are inevitable on this road too. The need for accelerated economic development of the country implies the development of our entire infrastructure, and one of the first tasks is the development and full valorisation of the airports. Development opportunities should not wait, nor do the chances happen again. Success in air transport must not disguise the challenges in other segments of transport. Especially when it comes to the rather burdened infrastructure of the Bay of Kotor, where a lot of work is waiting for us," PM Marković emphasised. 

The Prime Minister recalled the last week's announcement that the rate of economic growth in the third quarter of this year amounts to a full 5%, and is the third highest growth rate in Europe. 

"The growth rates of our economy in the past two years and the permanent growth of the number of tourists and passengers tell us that Montenegro is a destination in which people will come and invest, and even more will be invested," Prime Minister Marković concluded. 

The new 3,000 m² terminal contains six counters for checking passengers, two checkers, a modern sorting service for luggage servicing and a room for representatives of airlines, police, customs, etc.