11 February 2019 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović is paying a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, at the invitation of German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas. 

During the first day of his visit, Minister Darmanović met with his German counterpart Heiko Maas. "Montenegro is grateful to the Federal Republic of Germany for continuing assistance to the fulfillment of our strategic foreign policy priorities - full membership in NATO and progress in the process of EU accession", Minister Darmanović said, adding that Montenegro's commitment to meeting the Alliance's key tasks and the criteria for membership in the EU is unquestionable. 

Minister Darmanović noted that that German political and expert support in key areas - the rule of law, the fight against organised crime and corruption, judicial system reforms, media freedom, and the strengthening of the security and defence sector - is of particular significance for our country. Furthermore, he pointed to the possibility of stronger economic connectivity, stressing that "Montenegro is very open for a greater presence of German capital in our market and full valorisation of potentials for economic cooperation between the two countries." 

Minister Maas said that Germany will continue to provide full support to the reform processes and integration of Montenegro into the EU. "Your place is in the European Union, and if you continue this way, success is guaranteed," he said. Maas stressed that Germany strongly supports the European perspective of the countries of the region and that, in order to strengthen the stability of the whole of Europe, it is crucial that the door of the Union is open. "The Western Balkans is an integral part of Europe, and in that sense, Germany's support is clear and very strong," Maas emphasised. 

Minister Darmanović also talked with Foreign Policy Adviser to the Federal Chancellor Jan Hecker. The Minister expressed his belief that the future of the Western Balkans is in the EU, and stressed that the success of the enlargement policy is the basis of the long-term stability and security of the region. Both sides pointed out the importance of the European integration process for the further development of the countries of the Western Balkans.

11 February 2019 - The energy sector in Montenegro has great development potential, especially in the field of renewable energy sources, Prime Minister Duško Marković and representatives of the German WPD Group underscored at the meeting which took place in Podgorica.

Pointing to encouraging economic indicators and achievements of the Government's economic policy, Prime Minister Marković said that, through attracting credible foreign investments, Montenegro wants to make the best use of its energy potential, stressing as valuable the interest of the WPD group, a team that is dominantly focused on the development and financing of wind power plants.

10 February 2019 - Deputy prime minister and agriculture minister Milutin Simović recently visited Kolašin and said that the famous leafy cheese from Kolašin (the name is derived from its specific texture – thin, almost transparent layers) is going to be the 6^th Montenegrin protected product, which means it will get a brand new value and thus additional income for its producers.

Minister Simović said at the meeting with the representatives of the Association of Producers of this famous leafy cheese from Kolašin, who submitted the request for obtaining the official mark of origin, that is, protection of this product at the national level, to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The president of the Association, Milovan Vlahović, said this procedure started three years ago along with the project of the Employment Agency of Montenegro when it was decided to set up an association that would assist the local farmers.

“Then we decided to initiate the process of protecting the geographical origin and branding of the leafy cheese from Kolašin,” said Vlahović.

The process itself is in its final phase, i.e. there is one more month to be completed entirely, according to him.

The protection sign will mean a new step forward for Montenegro in the area of product quality policy, improvement of domestic producers, and creation of new jobs and more dynamic development of local and entire Montenegrin economy.

Montenegrin prosciutto is the most recent product that was approved under protection in Montenegro, taking place in December 2018.

“According to the Producer’s specification, Montenegrin prosciutto is the durable, dried meat product, processed from the ham of pig, dryly salted and coldly smoked and then it went through the process of drying. This entire process lasts at least one year. The application of the traditional production procedure, without any additions, other than sea salt, with the process of burning of the beech tree, results in the product that has recognizable smell, texture and taste”.

Before this, in the last two years, five products have been protected: “Njeguški pršut” (Prosciutto from Njeguši), “Pljevaljski sir” (Cheese from Pljevlja), “Cronogorski goveđi pršut” (Montenegrin beef prosciutto)“ and “Cronogorska stelja”.

09 February 2019 - Montenegro and the Republic of Korea have common interests both at bilateral and global levels, Prime Minister Duško Marković and newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Hyoung-chan Choe noted at today's meeting.

Both sides agreed that there are numerous opportunities and a mutual interest in boosting economic cooperation, in particular in the areas of tourism, energy, agriculture, IT and improvement of the overall infrastructure.

"The goals of this Government are strong growth of the economy, sustainable development and more and better-paid jobs," said Prime Minister Marković, stressing the importance of the arrival of Korean investors in Montenegro to invest not only capital but also knowledge and skills and create new value for Montenegro.

In the context of international cooperation, as well as in terms of preserving global peace and stability, PM MarkoviĆ reiterated that Montenegro, as a NATO member, can contribute more actively to these goals, adding that Montenegro understands and supports efforts to overcome challenges on the Korean peninsula.

"We appreciate the support for the Republic of Korea in maintaining peace and stability," Ambassador of the Republic of Korea highlighted, adding that bilateral relations between Montenegro and Korea are at a high level.

Prime Minister Duško Marković also recently met with business people of Montenegro and they noted that the excellent results of the Government's economic policy and the implemented reforms provided a quality basis for further business development, job creation and improvement of the quality of life of citizens.

Business people have said that the government has done a lot to improve the business environment, but that there are still specific challenges to be addressed. Prime Minister Marković and business people agreed that an intense fight against the gray economy is necessary for the areas of tourism, construction, trade and the labor market. Prime Minister Marković also talked with business people about the necessity of increasing salaries and improving the working conditions of private sector employees and how this can be achieved. 

08 February 2019 - Minister of Science of Montenegro Sanja Damjanović paid an official visit to Brussels, where she met with Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Carlos Moedas.

Minister of Science Damjanović presented the current status of activities on the regional project "Establishment of the South East European International Institute for Sustainable Technologies – SEEIIST", pointing to preparatory activities for the start of the next phase of the project – the phase of the development of a detailed Design Study, which the European Commission - Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) will support with 1 million EUR.

Minister Damjanović invited Commissioner Moedas to attend the Kick-off meeting marking the beginning of the Design Study phase, which will be held in Montenegro in mid-2019. Sanja Damjanović also presented the progress in the process of developing the Smart Specialisation Strategy, stressing Montenegro's full commitment to this important task, which is implemented with the support of the Directorate General of the Joint Research Center (JRC).

In the end, she pointed to the importance of the European Commission's Policy Support Facility (PSF), through which Montenegro is working to improve the national innovative ecosystem, with a special focus on innovative start-ups. 

Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Carlos Moedas thanked the Minister Damjanović for the detailed information on the progress of the preparatory phase of the SEEIIST project. He praised Montenegro's progress in the process of preparing the Smart Specialisation Strategy, noting in particular that Montenegro, in a very short time, managed to prepare a quality strategic document, thus gaining the conditions to become the first associated country to adopt this strategy.

Commissioner Carlos Moedas expressed satisfaction that Montenegro has made the best use of the Policy Support Facility instrument for the creation of a national framework for creating a better environment for innovative activities in the country.

09 February 2019 - D-moll Band will represent Montenegro at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, after winning the TVCG selection programme Montevision. The six-member band D-mol entered and won the competition with a ballad in the English language named "Heaven".

On Saturday night, the expert jury and Montenegrin Eurovision fans up and down the country had the power to pick the next Montenegrin entrant for the annual competition.

The winner was decided by votes in the Montevision music show, hosted and broadcasted by the public service broadcaster of Montenegro, TVCG. "D-moll" band performed the song in the English language named "Heaven", which was evaluated by the expert jury with members from the country and abroad and the audience, and the ballad had the highest number of votes.

In addition to "D-moll", four Montenegrin performers - Andrea Demirović, Monika Knezović, Ivana Popović Martinović and Nina Petković also presented their songs in Montevision.

Radio and Television of Montenegro organized and broadcasted this great music show, and through cable operators, the Public Service enabled the transfer of Montevision in HD resolution on a special channel.

On February 9, for the first time in the region, during this music competition, TVCG organised a prize for voters, a travel ticket for two people to Tel Aviv, for five days with tickets for Eurosong competition! The winner of the prize, a man from Podgorica, was delighted to receive the reward. The guest of the evening was the regional star Hari Mata Hari, who was invited to perform during the Montevision.

Montevision was opened by the group "D-moll" with an emotional ballad in the English language called "Heaven". Andrea Demirović performed the second song called "Ja sam ti san". Monika Knezović performed third with the composition "Nepogrješivo", which speaks of the power of love. Ivana Popovic Martinović performed fourth with the song "Nevinost", which tells a tale of people whom Ivana considers heroes of today. Nina Petković was the last to present to the audience with the song "Uzmi ili ostavi", which, as Nina said, is more daring than last year, and it carries a strong message. The International Jury of Montevision was comprised of Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta, Sweden and Ukraine. The president of the jury was Ruslana, winner of Eurosong 2004.

After being crowned victorious, D-moll performed their song Heaven again for the crowd. They will now head to the semi-finals of the Eurovision.

The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv, Israel from May 14-18. The Contest, organized by the EBU and Israeli public broadcaster KAN, will take place at Tel Aviv’s Expo Centre in May next year. As announced by EBU, a total of 42 countries will “Dare to Dream” (Eurovision 2019 slogan) as they head to Israel’s self-defined non-stop city in May next year, with the Semi-Finals taking place at Tel Aviv’s Expo Centre on the 14 and 16 of May, and the Grand Final on 18 May.

08 February 2019 - The Municipality of Tivat received a donation worth 30.000,00 EUR from the company Qatari Diar Real Estate.

The Qatari Diar Real Estate Company was established in 2005 by the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. The company is headquartered northeast of capital Doha on the coast of the Arabian Gulf. Qatari Diar has established itself as one of the world’s most trusted and respected real estate companies because of its commitment to quality, local community, partnership and sustainability. As of January 2018, Qatari Diar has a shared capital of US $8 billion, with 60 investment projects under development or held in 24 countries around the world, combining a value of over US$35 billion.

Qatari Diar has also launched a construction project in Montenegro - the company acquired the rights to the Blue Horizon hotel complex for €24 million, and it is in their plan to develop a five-star luxury hotel that will include sports resorts and villas. As stated by the representatives of the company, “the Plavi Horizonti Project, based upon the principles of an exclusive resort atmosphere, with reference to the natural setting of the Montenegrin landscape character, historic heritage and elements of an authentic Montenegrin village, is located ideally on the Luštica Peninsula, facing towards the magnificent Adriatic Sea. The mixed-use resort will include a 200-room world-class luxury resort hotel, a spa, a beach club, more than 140 residential villas, apartments and townhouses, and traditional village-style retail and recreation areas.”

This respected real estate company has decided to donate funds to support the development of Tivat Municipality. The donation will be directed towards the realisation of the second phase of asphalting the local road to Radovići Village on the peninsula Luštica. The segment of the road to Radovići that will be constructed is the road section Rogač-Radovići.

The Municipality of Tivat previously financed the reconstruction and asphalting of the section from the Đuraševići coast to the end of the Radovići Village, worth around 94.000,00 EUR.

On the Luštica peninsula, the construction of the second phase of the MR1 is underway, which will connect the local road to Radovići (from the natural reserve Tivatska solila) and the second phase of MR1. This road represents a direct traffic link to the development of tourism projects which are being built on the Luštica peninsula. The MR1 road will also greatly facilitate traffic in this part of the peninsula, which is of particular importance for the locals of the surrounding local communities.

08 February 2019 - A great deal of business success comes down to its advertising, and while large companies spend millions on advertising and marketing, that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to get a quality promotion. A recent example of free advertising of Sveti Stefan in Montenegro can be seen on a flyer by the Bank of America!  

Today, the luxury resort Sveti Stefan has received yet another confirmation of quality. The last in the series of Sveti Stefan’s promotions took place on the advertising flyer created for the Bank of America, one of the leading banking groups in the United States.

Namely, during its advertising campaign for the Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card, this bank used a photograph of the fairy-tale-like destination Sveti Stefan to attract the potential clients of the card. As mentioned on the flyer, a visit to luxury destinations is a reward for the right choices in life, and the one destination that has been highlighted is exactly the luxury resort in Montenegro. "Choose the rewards that are right for you", the Bank of America states on the flyer, while the picturesque Sveti Stefan glows to enchant all those who read the promotional material.

The jewel of the Budva Riviera - charming extraordinary island village Sveti Stefan is a picturesque fortification of 15th-century stone villas that overlook the most beautiful pink-sand beach and tempting turquoise waters. Located in the centre of Montenegro’s sun-drenched coastline, a short drive or sail from Budva or the Unesco-protected Bay of Kotor, the resort offers private access to Queen’s Beach, set in front of the Aman Spa and accessible via foot or boat transfer from the island.

According to News Agency Boka News, the presence of Sveti Stefan within the flyer was first noted by a citizen of Budva, Ljubo Filipović, who currently resides in the United States. He and his friends shared a photo of the flyer and expressed their enthusiasm that Montenegro had gained such a valuable promotion.

07 February 2019 - At its latest session, the Government of Montenegro passed the Programme for Stimulating Water Supply Projects in 2019, which foresees the allocation of 970.000 EUR to finance water supply networks construction and another 80.000 EUR for financing other obligations and needs in the field of water management.

The programme includes the construction of 31 water supply networks in order to create better living and working conditions in the rural area, as well as further development of agriculture. Priority was given to rural water supply networks, which were financed in the previous period, as well as new requests for water supply, submitted by municipalities.

Prime Minister Marković pointed to the significant continuous multi-million dollar investment of the Government in the overall infrastructure in local governments - road, communal, social as well as numerous capital projects. He reiterated that the Law on Financing Local Self-Government further strengthened the possibilities of municipalities, especially less developed ones, given the fact that this law has provided about 13 million EUR for this purpose.

"This is the relation of our policy towards the citizens, this is the contribution of the Government to the development of our rural areas and we want to ensure that citizens live better and develop their potentials," said Prime Minister Duško Marković.

Considering several items of the previous session regarding the Privatisation and Capital Projects Council on 1 February 2019, the Government passed the Decision on the Privatisation Plan for 2019 and adopted: the Report on the work of the Privatisation and Capital Projects Council for 2018 with the Report on the realisation of the privatisation plan for 2018, Report on realised investment and other activities under the Long-Term Lease and Construction Agreement referring to "Luštica Development" AD Tivat - Luštica Bay project for 2018, Report on realised investment and other activities under the Agreement on the Long-Term Lease of the Lastavica Island with Mamula fortress for 2018, Report on realised investments under the Decision on granting long-term lease of land on Luštica Peninsula - Herceg Novi for the period 16 December 2017 - 20 December 2018, Initiative of the Investor of the New Tobacco Combine AD Podgorica related to the resolution of the non-monetary role of the Government of Montenegro in AD "New Tobacco Combine - Podgorica" and Information on the fulfillment of the conditions for the return of the second bank guarantee to Turkey-based "Global Ports Holding" - buyer of shares of the company "Container terminal and General cargo "AD - Bar. Approval was given to the Decision of the Board of Directors on the selection of the model and initiation of the restructuring process No. 02-7220 / 5 adopted by the Board of Directors of HG "Budvanska rivijera AD - Budva" on 20 December 2018.

07 February 2019 - The excellent results of the Government's economic policy and the implemented reforms provided a quality basis for further business development, job creation and improvement of the quality of life of citizens, the meeting of Prime Minister Duško Marković and the most successful Montenegrin business people assessed. 

Recalling the economic growth of 4.9 percent for the nine months of 2018, which is among the largest in Europe, and the results of fiscal consolidation, Prime Minister Marković told business people that this year he wants to continue with similar growth rates, strengthen the fight against the gray economy, change laws to strengthen competitiveness and eliminate business barriers and increase the efficiency of administration. 

The Prime Minister said that the consistent application of the law is important and that part of the challenges faced by business people stem from bad practice and inadequate application of the rules. 

Business people have said that the government has done a lot to improve the business environment, but that there are still specific challenges to be addressed. Prime Minister Marković and business people agreed that an intense fight against the gray economy is necessary for the areas of tourism, construction, trade and the labor market. Prime Minister Marković also talked with business people about the necessity of increasing salaries and improving the working conditions of private sector employees and how this can be achieved. 

The Prime Minister told business people that the state never paid more money for development and business, and reminded that the capital budget of EUR 320 million was the largest since the independence renewal. 

"There is money and opportunity for work. We have to organise ourselves to use them and turn them into a common good," Prime Minister Marković said. 

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Milutin Simović, Finance Minister Darko Radunović, Economy Minister Dragica Sekulić, Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulović and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Investment Development Fund Zoran Vukčević.