26 May 2019 - President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović received newly appointed UNDP Resident Representative in Montenegro Daniela Gašparikova.
The President expressed his satisfaction with appointing Gašparikova as Resident Representative of UNDP in Montenegro and wished her success in further work with the impression that the experience gained with UNDP's long-term engagement will contribute to a stronger positioning of the Office and achievement of commonly defined goals. In that context, he conveyed full personal and institutional support of Montenegro.
He expressed the gratitude of Montenegro to the strong support provided by the UNDP Office at the national level and the intensity and dynamics of joint activities and programs that fully monitor the developmental needs of Montenegro in the context of EU integration and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Strategy.
The President expressed his gratitude to UNDP for the support given to Montenegro for two decades, which in that period was the least-developed republic of former Yugoslavia, became an independent state, a NATO member, leader in European integration and the most dynamic economy of WB. Cooperation with UNDP has gained new quality through the area of sustainable development, which has become the philosophy of the development of Montenegro noted Đukanović.
"We continue to see the continuation of cooperation and support for capacity building by UNDP as a real chance for ourselves, and you can count on to our absolute dedication to this relationship," said Đukanović.
He stressed that Montenegro supports reform processes that will lead to more efficient and stronger United Nations, also repositioning the UN development system and separating two positions (UN Resident Coordinators and UNDP Resident Representative), which will contribute to more effective UN action in supporting the country's plan of achieving key national priorities.
The newly appointed Resident Representative of UNDP in Montenegro Daniela Gašparikova expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation with Montenegro, emphasizing that she is privileged to continue to improve this cooperation during her mandate. Clearly set national priorities and Montenegro's commitment make this road to the EU easier, Gašparikova said.
She added that the confirmation of that dedication and the fact that Montenegro was one of the first countries in the world that have transfered the goals of sustainable development into its Sustainable Development Strategy. Key areas of cooperation in the future will be seen in digitization, infrastructure building for this area and electronic management.
The Resident Representative of the UN emphasized that the use of information technologies will help reduce the gap between the need for capacity building and rationalization and the need to respond to the challenges and tasks that country is facing within the negotiation process. "This will enable Montenegro to become competitive even at the end of that road, even compared to individual EU members," Gašparikova said.
The interlocutors agreed that green development and economics, as well as the sustainability of the energy sector, are also important areas of further cooperation.
