Đukanović: Attracting investors is a market game

Prime Minister Milo Đukanović said that the state's borrowing of over 800 million euros for the construction of 40 kilometers of highway is justified because Montenegro "increases its wealth" by doing so.

Today in Tivat, he indirectly announced a new cycle of privileges for foreign investors, for which a large part of the Montenegrin public is already criticizing him as excessive.

"The state of Montenegro has a budget deficit and a serious debt compared to, for example, the Municipality of Tivat, and despite this, we boldly make decisions to begin the implementation of large investment projects such as the highway. This is exactly the way to overcome, as critics tell us, debt slavery. It is not debt slavery when you invest in the construction of a new basic asset with which you will enrich the ownership of the state of Montenegro. Debt slavery is when you do not work, but you spend, and when year after year you need to borrow in order to cover consumption. Such is the case, unfortunately, these years , and with the construction of the highway and the construction of other important development projects in the field of infrastructure, Montenegro is becoming richer and will be more able to finance its consumption from its own sources without the need and obligation to borrow," said the Prime Minister.

He underlined that "The government has a very precisely and ambitiously defined goal - that Montenegro stand alongside the most prestigious European tourist destinations."

"Whoever wants to work with us on the development of a project that contributes to that goal is our partner, and we will do our best to help him achieve his partnership goals," said Đukanović, highlighting Porto Montenegro as a good example of such an approach. Governments to foreign investors.

He stressed that "attracting investors in the world today is a market game" and said that the Government will not change its platform in this regard.

"It should be understood that the attitude towards investors is an ongoing issue, you have to harmonize it, I wouldn't say every day, but every hour. Today, the competition on the market has intensified and what until yesterday were competitive conditions that should be offered to investors, today are no coincidence ", pointed out Đukanović, adding that "you would probably be surprised if you found out how the Governments of developed EU and NATO member states stimulate and attract investors to create jobs in their country".

"That is many times more than what we are ready to offer in our country. It is an open market match in which today, in times of crisis, you have a shortage of capital supply and an excess of demand for investments even in developed Evopra, let alone in the middle like Balkans. You have to react very sensibly on a daily basis in order to be competitive," - the prime minister thinks, adding that if you stop for even a few days, another country will immediately overtake you.

Đukanović added that local administrations in Montenegro must also be aware of this, as they must compete with each other to offer the most competitive business environment, like Tivat, which has already created it.

"No one else in Montenegro has these investments that Tivat has. Some others who may be recognizable today by their mistakes, I am sure that they have learned lessons from it and that, taught by Tivat's experience, they will try to be better than Tivat," Đukanović concluded.