Montenegro is an attractive investment destination, said the president of the Council of Foreign Investors (SSICG), Kristof Schoen, and added that its members intend to continue to expand their business and implement new investments in a large number of sectors.
At the annual Assembly of the Council, which was held at the Hilton Hotel, Schoen said that in that organization they are faced with enormous challenges that were directly triggered by the global pandemic crisis, as well as those that existed before, and which intensified during the year.
"Once again, I want to point out our commitment to cooperation with the Montenegrin Government and administration in the coming period," said Schoen. According to him, SSICG, which has 43 members, has been guided by the same set of principles since its establishment in 2009 until today - consistency, transparency, equality and predictability.
"These values are more important today than ever," Schoen said.
He said that in the coming year the Council will continue with the regular activities that it carried out this year. When it comes to the publication of the White Book, Schoen said that the Council will continue cooperation with the Government and other organizations.
"We will continue the work of our working groups to insist on amendments to the regulations and certain improvements," Schoen added.
According to him, this year was particularly difficult, not only because of the coronavirus pandemic, but also because of the political situation.
"We have to move on and see how and in what way we can cooperate with the new government. "We will insist on some new forms of cooperation with the Government in order to achieve our goals," Schoen announced.
The Minister for Capital Investments, Mladen Bojanić, said that all domestic and foreign investors will have full institutional support in the Government.
"We will be your partner and protector of your businesses, in order to make this space even more attractive for foreign and domestic investors," said Bojanić.
He assessed that, when it comes to Montenegro, investors faced problems in the area of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in the previous period.
"Every real estate investor who comes to Montenegro with the desire to invest rightly demands the full rule of law and wants us to provide him with healthy competition by minimizing, if not completely eradicating, corruption," Bojanić said. He announced that a special department for the fight against corruption will be formed within the Ministry, to which investors will be able to contact. Bojanic announced that investors rightly expect the efficiency of the entire state administration.
"That is one of our policies that we will implement. Also, I am sure that until now the problem for you is the unpredictability of the tax, customs and overall fiscal policy", said Bojanić.
He also stated that the spatial plans and technical permits related to the construction had been waiting for a long time, which had the effect of slowing down the work of certain investors or forcing them to withdraw.
Bojanic said that the Ministry believes that the most large capital investments for Montenegro are needed in road infrastructure and energy.
"It is something that should start the Montenegrin economy, that is, it is, conditionally speaking, public works. There is certainly room for small and medium-sized businesses, which at this moment, however, can hardly be a generator of development, if we have problems in infrastructure matters", Bojanić concluded.
The annual assembly of SSICG was also attended by the ministers of finance and social welfare and economic development, Milojko Spajić and Jakov Milatović.
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