04 June 2019 - President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović received the Assistant Secretary General of UN and Regional Director of UNDP for Europe and the Community of Independent States Mirjana Spoljarić Egger.
President Đukanović welcomed and congratulated her on the recent appointment as the regional director with the wishes for success during the mandate. He expressed satisfaction with her visit to the region and Montenegro as an incentive for future cooperation with UNDP and the upgrading of the partnership relationship. He assessed that Montenegro has many reasons for mutual satisfaction, and that in the past period the expert and overall support of UNDP, which was always in the function of democratic development of Montenegro and realization of foreign policy priorities, was very well used.
On the trail of commitment to co-operation with the UN, the President expressed support for the reform processes of Secretary-General Guterres and Montenegro's intention to continue contributing to the implementation of all the tasks of reform, starting with the preservation of peace until the goals of the 2030 agenda are achieved.
"Activities that are in focus UN and UNDP are to a large extent consistent with the development strategy of Montenegro and the process of joining the European Union," Đukanović said, adding that Montenegro remains open to considering and further organizing the organizational structure in line with the new organization of the actions from UN System in the country as the best way to respond to the complexity of the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy and the Agenda 2030.
In conversation with the Regional Director of UNDP, the President reminded that the main priorities of state policy remain further democratization of society and intensive economic development, and in this context, the importance of presence and improvement of cooperation with UNDP and the UN system as a whole is clearly recognized.
Regional Director of UNDP Mirjana Spoljarić Egger expressed satisfaction with her arrival in Montenegro and meeting with President Đukanović, highlighting excellent cooperation with Montenegrin state and local authorities at all levels.
"The UN reform is an opportunity for even better quality work, a better focus on the substance of the UNDP mandate and strengthening ties with the government," Spoljarić said.
She added that UNDP remains committed to further support through regional policy investments that are relevant to the region, in particular in the direction of institution building, support to institutional reforms and further greening of the economy that will ensure sustainable growth.
"With dedication, you can represent an example of nationalization of the Agenda 2030 in the region," said Spoljarić.
The Regional Director of UNDP reminded that the Agenda offers the opportunity to speed up the EU accession plan, while achieving sustainable development that will benefit the country. In this context, UNDP remains fully open to continue advocating and supporting Montenegro as a candidate for EU membership, a member of the United Nations and a significant factor of regional stability in the future.
