23 March 2019 - A delegation of Chinese businesspeople, led by the President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai Sub-Council, Yang Jianrong and Secretary General of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce will come to Tivat on official business from 28 to 30 March.

During their stay in Tivat, the representatives of the aforementioned Chinese associations will speak with the most important Montenegrin businessmen and representatives of international investors, companies "Luštica Development", "Adriatic Marinas" and "Qatary Diar", and will have official meetings at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro.

"This is a great honor, not only for Tivat, but also for Montenegro," said Petar Vujović, secretary of the Secretariat for Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tivat Municipality, who is also the main initiator of the visit of this high-level economic delegation.

As stated in the Tivat municipality statement, after their official visit to Shanghai in 2015, Tivat's local government has concluded a twinning relationship with one of the richest areas in Shanghai - the Jiading district."This contract marked the beginning of our fruitful cooperation with China. For the third year in a row, we are successfully organizing the exchange of our high school students and their peers from Shanghai. Each year, our students are participating in the Chinese summer camp organized in Shanghai, and we managed to connect our Faculty of Mediterranean Business Studies with Chinese University "Zhejiang Wanli" from the Chinese city of Ningbo, which has over 20,000 students, "emphasized Vujović.

He added that economic cooperation has so far been lacking. "Finally, our longstanding persistence and almost everyday communication with our friends from China paid off. The numerous calls that we have sent to Chinese businessmen to come and visit Tivat and Montenegro resulted in this official visit, and for that, we are very pleased," Vujović stressed during an interview for News Agency Boka News.

He is convinced that the meeting of the Mayor of Siniša Kusovac with the Chinese delegation, investors and domestic businessmen, who expressed their desire to establish economic cooperation with China, will be a kind of "springboard" for economic integration of Tivat enterprises with Chinese businessmen.

The delegation from China will have the opportunity to visit the site of two most important investment projects in the territory of the municipality of Tivat - Porto Montenegro and Luštica Bay. Thanks to the efforts of Tivat municipality's representatives, the Chinese guests will also have a meeting with the representatives of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, where they will sign a memorandum on cooperation between the arbitration boards of Montenegro and Shanghai.

22 March 2019 - At its 5th session, chaired by President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Council on Competitiveness adopted the 2019 Plan of Action.

At its 5th session, chaired by President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Council on Competitiveness adopted the 2019 Plan of Action. Based on the analysis of previous experience and recommendations of the Council's members, it was decided that the Council's sessions should focus on pre-defined vital topics that should result in a positive impact on the business environment. The plan envisages that at least four sessions will take place this year - one in each quarter. Following the session on March 22 which analysed the Draft Law on Business Organisations, the topic for the 2nd session will be Tax Policy and Grey Economy, 3rd quarter will review the Draft Law on Labour and other acts regulating this area, while Digitisation will be considered in the 4th quarter.

The Competitiveness Council reviewed the Information of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro on the need for the completion of the Draft Law on Business Organisations. The Secretariat of the Council is tasked to set up a working group which will complete the analysis report of the current situation in the field of company registration. The working group will then present a concrete solution with a feasible action plan and bearers that will be defined in line with the objectives at the session in the third quarter: simplifying the business start-up process in terms of reducing the time needed to register a company and reducing the number of steps; enabling complete electronic registration; enabling electronic data exchange and company status; improving the Central Register of Business Entities of Montenegro's database and linking with other relevant registers; and defining the status and organisation of the Central Register of Business Entities.

The President of the Council said, concluding this item of the agenda, that the goal is to reach a legal solution that will be most suitable for further development of Montenegrin economy, making the best use of potentials and creating new values. He added that in the process of drafting this law, the administration should not allow itself to ignore any suggestions from the business community. "We need to have the best possible regulation in this area because we are passing laws for a new era in which we will be part of the European and global markets," the Council's President Duško Marković highlighted.

The session also reviewed the Presentation of the Results of the White Paper: The Investment Climate in Montenegro in 2018, submitted by the Council of Foreign Investors in Montenegro. The Ministry of Finance and the Secretariat of the Competitiveness Council are tasked to draft statements on the recommendations set out in the White Paper. Recommendations refer to more efficient implementation of reforms in the part of registration of companies, further steps in improving tax procedures; modernisation of work of cadastral and notary services; as well as the continuation of work on: setting the basis for further investments in infrastructure, the growth and labour market flexibility, and the policy of improving the work of the administration and increasing its efficiency. The Council also recommended the adoption of the regulatory framework for public-private partnerships and further regulation of fiscal policy at the local level.

The Competitiveness Council reviewed the Key findings of the Report on the business environment in Montenegro for the period 2017-2018 completed by the American Chamber of Economy. The Report, which was presented on March 4, 2019 during the visit of the Montenegrin Prime Minister to the American Chamber of Economy in Montenegro, reads that the overall assessment of the business environment in Montenegro for the period 2017-2018, on the scale from 1 to 10, is 6.29, which is a progress compared to the assessment from the previous Report for the period 2015-2016, when it was 5.57. "The confirmation of the improvement of the business environment is the fact that almost half of the companies participating in the survey believe that the business climate in their sector has improved, while in the previous report only 33% of our business entities replied that the improvement of the business environment is evident. Therefore, the basic finding is that the number of companies that notice the favourable development of the business climate is growing, and that the business environment has been advanced, but that there is room for further progress," said representative of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Council Marko Miročević.

The report contains recommendations, including the need to involve private sector representatives at the earliest stage in the process of drafting and adopting laws and other regulations that have an impact on the business environment and setting the basis for a competitive labour market, in line with the best practices of the labour legislation of the European Union.

Within this item of the agenda, the President of the Council noted that in the perception of the rule of law the most important challenge is the informal economy and the grey market, and that it is necessary to continue implementing the foreseen measures that have already yielded results.

President Marković informed the Council about the latest economic data published by the Monstat during the session. GDP growth in Montenegro in the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to 4.8%, and in the whole of 2018, growth was, according to preliminary data, 4.9%. At the same time, President Marković said, growth in the EU28 stood at 1.5%. The EU member states that have higher GDP growth are Malta, with growth of 7.2% and Hungary and Latvia, with growth of 5.1% in the 4th quarter. The countries of the region have lower rates than Montenegro in the last quarter of last year, namely Slovenia 4.1%, Northern Macedonia 3.7%, Serbia 3.4% and Croatia 2.3%, while Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have not published data.

"This is a remarkable result and a confirmation that we did a good job. I call on business people to reinvest part of their profits and create new jobs," concluded the Council's President, Prime Minister Duško Marković.

22 March 2019 - The Majorette club "Lili" from Herceg Novi will take part in a national championship in modern dances in Podgorica on Sunday, March 24th.

This championship includes several types of modern dance, and 35 members of the "Lili" club will compete in the category of majorette dance. They prepared seven choreographies and hope for good results, said the coach and choreographer Ljiljana Porobić.

"We compete with three formations - with our bees, cadets and joint juniors and seniors formation, as well as with one duo and three solo performances. We are ready, we have worked hard, and we hope that we win some medals. It remains to be seen whether our hard work and effort will be recognized and how well can we perform on stage. Before going to Podgorica, the Majorette club "Lili" will take part in the final segments of the Mimosa Festival program: "Thank you for 50" and the carnival parade," said the choreographer in an interview for Radio Herceg Novi.

"We have accepted the invitation to be on the Square of Nikola Đurković tomorrow, as well as on Saturday in the carnival parade. It's a bit tiring, we have a lot of work to do in only three days, but since we now have day-to-day training because of the competition, we are in good shape, and we will try to present ourselves in the best way possible," she explained.

In five years of existence, the Majorette club "Lili" has won numerous acknowledgments and awards, including eight European medals, and their favorite one is their very first medal."We have plenty of medals from state championships and international competitions, so many that we lost count. There are probably around 40 in different categories. The biggest prizes that are the most meaningful to us are eight European medals. Although we look forward to every prize, we always emphasize that our first European medal is somehow the most desirable," Porobić said.

After the national championship, the members of the Majorette club "Lili" will continue to train well for the European championship that will be held in late August in France.

23 March 2019 - The Government of Montenegro, together with domestic and international partners, is implementing numerous projects and activities for sustainable water resources management and provision of high-quality water supply, and to respond to the global challenges that are also present in Montenegro, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milutin Simović said on World Water Day – 22 March. 

Opening the Conference on Water Day, DPM Simović said that the concern about water as a resource and the necessary condition of existence is a joint responsibility and obligation. "This is a good opportunity to recall global and local challenges while pointing to everything we do to ensure sufficient water resources and water protection," Simović said. 

World Water Day is an annual UN observance day that highlights the importance of freshwater. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Around one billion people still do not have access to safe and adequate drinking water resources, and three billion lack proper sanitary facilities. This year's theme of the World Water Day is "Leaving no one behind." 

DPM Simović recalled that Montenegro is rich in water resources and that, concerning its area, it is one of the wealthiest regions in the world. "95% of the river flows in Montenegro are formed on its territory. For the purpose of water supply, the groundwater is used in as much as 90% of the cases. On the other hand, Montenegro belongs to the Dinaric karst terrain, whose basic characteristic is the irregular dispersion of sources and depths to the level of groundwater, and as a result, we have an uneven distribution of water in the territory of Montenegro," Simović said. 

He pointed out that groundwater of karst terrains of Montenegro is a particularly vulnerable resource to pollution, and especially to climate change, and therefore great attention is paid to maintaining their natural functions. 

The floods that hit Montenegro in 2010, which had great material consequences and the repetition of the floods in 2012, 2014 and 2016, according to Simović, are seen as a consequence of the increasing impact of climate change. 

In February 2017, the implementation of a project supported from EU pre-accession funds “Strengthening the Capacities for Implementation of the Water Framework Directive" has begun in Montenegro. 

The Deputy Prime Minister reminded that in the past two years, the national budget provided over 2 million EUR for the implementation of over 100 water supply projects in 20 municipalities. 

In the field of flood protection, with the support of the GIZ, a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment was prepared, as well as a hydraulic model of the Bojana River, which detected dangerous flood zones. "This data will help us to implement further a new regional project in the Drim River basin, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with UNDP, with the financial support of the Adaptation Fund. We have just received confirmation that it was approved as the first regional project in Eastern Europe," Simović said. He said that the 1.2 million dollars from the project is planned for Montenegro and will be used to prepare the main project for the rehabilitation of embankments on Bojana River and infrastructure works for the construction of embankments on priority sections. 

Simović recalled that the Government of Montenegro gave a systematic response in coping with the consequences of several decades of degradation of river flows due to the uncontrolled exploitation of gravel and sand. 

"In April 2017, we introduced a moratorium on the exploitation of materials from river flows," DPM Simović stressed. 

With the support of the World Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing 500,000 EUR worth project to regulate rivers Grnčar and Lim. Another significant regional project will be implemented from April this year, in cooperation with UNDP and UNESCO. A project called DIKTAS SAP, worth a total of 5 million EUR, should contribute to greater integration of domestic experts and training of young people, as well as valorisation and better exploitation of the Dinaric karst groundwater. 

Deputy Permanent Representative of the UNDP in Montenegro Miodrag Dašić said that today's gathering is an ideal opportunity for dialogue to define solutions to challenges in the area of water protection and use. He emphasised that water management is essential in the regional and cross-border context, and that UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture are implementing critical regional projects. 

A representative of GIZ for Montenegro Nenad Rakočević said that numerous projects aimed at water protection were implemented in the past seven years in Montenegro. He emphasises that GIZ remains a partner to the institutions in Montenegro in the field of water sector improvement, meeting EU requirements and strengthening cross-border cooperation.

22 March 2019 - We expect to have the first applications for Montenegrin Citizenship by the Investment Programme by the end of this year, while the Programme itself will be entirely in place in 2020, head of the Secretariat for Development Projects, Dejan Medojević, said in an interview with Dnevne Novine daily.

The Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Programme started on 1 January 2019, and it will be limited to 2,000 investors over three years. According to Medojević, there will not be a place either for those working with dirty money nor persons of interests to the security services in this Programme.

“On behalf of the Government of Montenegro, the Secretariat has launched the Citizenship Programme. Before this, the Government had defined requirements that an investor must comply with to get economic citizenship. This is not about the general sale of passports but rather an important development project for Montenegro,” said Medojević.

He reminded of the investment requirements, that is, 100,000 EUR donation in a Government Funds plus.

“The money will be allocated to the less-developed local self-government units and will be spent primarily on infrastructure and facilities which will bring some value to the north of the country,” pointed out Medojević.

On the selection procedure for the applicants Medojević explained that the special mediation agents would first check all of them, then the international credentials agents and then auditors who will be checking whether the money is paid as was planned. Finally, when the Secretariat says that they (investors) have met all the requirements, Prime Minister Duško Marković is to send his proposal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to put whatever controls it can in place, but, of course, following the Law on Citizenship.

“So, the final controls are to be taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Security Agency,” concluded Mr Medojević, adding that they will do everything they can “to grant citizenship to most suitable applicants, willing to invest in the development of Montenegro.”

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

22 March 2019 - Investments in Uniprom KAP, around EUR 36 million thus far and an additional 30 million, are an excellent opportunity for Montenegro, its economy, industrial production, and export increase, it was noted today during Prime Minister Duško Marković's visit to the factory. 

"A new modern industrial centre is practically being developed in Montenegro. I am sure that most citizens do not know about it, not only in Montenegro but also in Podgorica. New plants and new factories for the finalisation of aluminum production are being developed here," PM Marković said. 

He added that in May, a new line for the production of aluminum alloys would be completed, and by the end of the year, we will have a new factory that will provide a path for the production of aluminum billet. In 2020, according to Prime Minister Marković, another new factory for the production of aluminum wire and steel wire is planned. 

Owner of Uniprom Veselin Pejović said that EUR 20 million had been invested so far in replacement of 170 cells and other infrastructure.

"With the new silumin factory which we will open in the next couple of months, production will be 30,000 tons. The investment is worth EUR 11 million, and the investment for the billet production factory with a capacity of 70,000 tons, which will be open by the end of 2020, is 15 million. These two factories will have a total production of 100,000 tons, which means that in 2020 we should have an export of about 300 million dollars," Pejović said. 

Prime Minister Marković praised the fact that KAP uses the new plant for liquefied gas. 

"Therefore, fuel oil and oil are removed from use, which is very important for the further development of KAP, but it is also essential for the preservation of the environment," the Prime Minister emphasised. 

Pejović specified that the introduction of this system was also important for bringing relevant customers from the European market, and pointed out that Uniprom KAP is the only Balkan-based factory using LNG, liquid natural gas. 

"KAP used to spend 10 tons of oil daily. That is equal to 1,000 cars in Podgorica per day and 10 liters of oil per car per day. What polluter! This is no longer a case in KAP," the owner of Uniprom explained. 

He added that they had invested EUR five million so far in LNG and gas station. The further development of KAP and the new plants will reach a figure of 20 million to cover all production maximally. 

PM Marković especially praised the fact that in such difficult conditions and complex activities, the company cherishes a principle of social responsibility and supports the interests of the community as a whole.

The Prime Minister reiterated that he, the Government and the competent authorities would actively support the fulfillment of investment plans of Uniprom KAP and this development perspective.

Minister of Economy Dragica Sekulić and Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulović also paid a visit to KAP.

March 23, 2019 - The Institute is facing significant challenges, but the primary goal is not to change - to preserve and improve the essential activity - physical medicine and rehabilitation, said Dr. Gordana Rajovic, director of the "Dr. Simo Milošević" Institute at the Academy marking the 70th anniversary of the health-tourism centre in Herceg Novi. The event was held last night at the Congress Hall of this institution.

March 23, 2019 - Organizers of the civic movement “Odupri Se- 97,000” invites you to the sixth protest to be held in Podgorica today.

Tenants of six open-air disco clubs, fast food and shops announced that they would rejoin next Thursday when the government should declare upon their request that temporary buildings also remain for this summer at Budva promenade near the City Post.

Today they gathered again on the roundabout at the entrance to Budva, convinced that the Ministry of Sustainable Development would accept their request and submit it to the Government.

Although it was expected that such a decision should be found at today's session of the Government, because the Minister of Tourism Pavle Radulovic announced at the beginning of the week that he would submit the demands of the tenants to his collegium, about the fate of popular disco clubs and shops, however, there was no word today. "We gathered today, and we expected that the minister would make the final decision on his collegium yesterday, which the government was supposed to discuss today. As the Ministry of Tourism collegium did not consider our request, we expect it to be done next Thursday, when the government’s session is also scheduled. We hope for a positive decision, we hope that the competent authorities will have understanding for our requests, we hope that Minister Radulovic will fulfill our wishes and allow the objects to remain by the end of the summer, which would we, obliged by a contract, remove until October 31st," said the owner of a shop on the promenade Savo Radonjic.

Stressing that they will gather again next Thursday, the tenants once again reiterated that the season in Budva begins the next week, when organized groups of guests arrive, and that practically there is no time to execute the removal of objects and the arrangement of space. They reiterated that it was first necessary to approach the planned development of the project for the design of the promenade, and then make the decision to remove the objects. Three days ago, a meeting was held in Budva, in the premises of JP Morsko dobro, attended by Minister of Tourism Pavle Radulovic, Public Enterprise Director Predrag Jelusic, Mayor of Budva Marko Bato Carevic and lawyer Zoran Piperovic, a legal representative of the owners of six discotheques.

After the meeting, Radulovic said that definitely everyone remained with their opinion that such an offer is no longer appropriate at that location, but that until an alternative location to which the facilities would have been relocated was found, it was proposed to allow to the local shops to work this season, under the condition that they would need to remove them by October 31^st. Such a request was signed by Jelusic and Piperovic, and the collegium should declare their decision today.

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Text by Vuk Lajovic, on March 21st 2019, read more at Vijesti

The Italian Financial Police has donated two speedboats to the Montenegrin Police Directorate, which will be used by the Montenegrin border police for surveillance of the state border at sea in the detection and suppression of cross-border crime. The Police Directorate announced that the ceremonial handover of the speedboats, which can be used in extreme weather conditions, was held today in the Port of Budva, after the International Conference "Joint Response to the Suppression of Illegal Migration and their Impact on Terrorism".

Two patrol vessels were delivered by the Director of the Central Directorate for Migration and Border Police of Italy, Masimo Bontempi, to the Assistant Director of the Police Directorate - department Border Police Vesko Damjanovic.

Damjanovic thanked Bontempi and the Italian Financial Police on a valuable donation, as well as on the training organized by the colleagues from Italy in Gaeta for two crews who will use the donated vessels in the execution of entrusted tasks.

He said that he believes this is the beginning of even closer and more direct cooperation between the Montenegrin and Italian police in the fight against all forms of organized cross-border crime. Bontempi stressed that the Montenegrin police is a reliable and confidential partner to the Italian and financial police.

He said he was confident that the two countries' police would undertake joint activities that would contribute to even greater security at sea, which is in the interest of the citizens of Italy and Montenegro.

The general of the Unit in the Italian Financial Police, Ricardo Rapanoti, said that the police is a partner of Frontex in the protection of the sea border.

According to him, the cooperation with the Montenegrin police in detecting and preventing crime is very important to the Financial Police, especially all forms of smuggling.

Italian Ambassador to Montenegro Luka Zelioli believes that the donation is an expression of quality strategic cooperation between the two police.

He said that the donation is a confirmation that the excellent relations between the two countries do not take place only in the fields of politics, culture and economy, but that they are also important in the area of significance for the security of the borders of Italy and Montenegro.

Two patrol vessels were donated to the Montenegrin police based on the "Memorandum of Understanding and Strengthening Cooperation in the Fields of Border Management and Migration, Combating Illegal Migration and Smuggling of Migrants, Especially at Sea".

The Memorandum was signed by the Director of the Police Directorate Veselin Veljovic and the head of the National Police of Italy, Franco Gabrieli, in October last year in Brindisi.

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Text by MINA News, on March 21st 2019, read more at Vijesti