21 September 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković addressed participants of the Miločer Development Forum and said that Montenegro is successfully advancing in the process of fiscal consolidation, development projects and attracting foreign investments and that it cannot be compared to Montenegro in 2006.
"We will continue to move forward. I am convinced that Montenegro will become one of the most developed and most promising states in the northern Mediterrane," said Prime Minister Marković at the Miločer Development Forum in a conversation with Dean of the Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies Milica Vukotić.
Asked about what events he finds the most significant for Montenegro in the past year since the last Miločer Development Forum, PM Marković said that there is no doubt that this year's summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans in Sofia is important for the region. "It did not only give a new approach and clear prospects to Montenegro and the Western Balkans in terms of European integration and the European future but also indicated the new approach to the Western Balkans in terms of development and economy."
"The summit in its final declaration confirmed that the EU will be funding the Adriatic-Ionian motorway. In 2017, Montenegro experienced a growth rate of 4.3%, and this trend continued in 2018 with a 4.5% growth rate in the first quarter and I believe we will keep that level at the end of the year," said is Prime Minister Markovič, adding that this is important for a better quality of life of citizens of the country.
Asked to comment on "criticism from cafes" about what the Government is doing, Prime Minister Duško Marković said that it is much easier to be in the stands and evaluate what others do rather than participate in the processes. He added that his Government has been successful in nearly two years.
The Prime Minister said that the previous governments, as well as all of the Montenegrin development processes, such as the Porto Montenegro, and the like, were under the constant fire of criticism and destruction.
"Today we have Porto Montenegro who affirmed Montenegro in every sense, not only as a prestigious tourist destination but as a country with serious potential and great opportunities as well. Today we have the same story about airports," Prime Minister Duško Marković stressed.
When asked how he sees the motorway in terms of tourism development in Montenegro, the Prime Minister said that, when it comes to the assessment of the integrity of this historic capital investment for Montenegro, we came out of the period of negation.
He said that earlier it was suggested that this investment is not necessary for Montenegro, that it will endanger Montenegro in every sense, especially financially, and that it will not bring economic benefits to Montenegro, and that it might be better to go with some alternative high-speed models or third tape on already existing infrastructure.
"This is about our mentality, but also the fear of moving to something new, the fear that we are not able to confront the needs of the country and citizens when circumstances do not support us. There is also a standard situation for the political public to create an environment in which we do not have to do anything to have a reason for criticism," the Prime Minister explained.
He stated that the then Government has made a smart and courageous decision and that it coincides with the capacity that decision-makers must have.
"You need to see what is going on behind closed doors, not in the room you re sitting in, and we are enjoying the serious benefits of starting the construction of the first priority section of the highway today. So far, we have spent about EUR 400 million on the loan from the Exim Bank and around EUR 40 million from the capital budget. From 2015 to the present day, 5-6% of the construction of the motorway contributed to the growth of our GDP, not to mention other indirect benefits," Prime Minister Marković concluded.
