Vukčević, president of the Chamber of Crafts

Ivan Vukčević was appointed as the new president of the Chamber of Crafts, and Obrad Kovačević and Petar Martinović as vice presidents.

Minister of Economic Development Jakov Milatović, who presided over the Electoral Assembly of the JU Chamber of Crafts, said that he expects that the new leadership to give an impetus to the improvement of craft development in Montenegro.

"In this way, artisans will be better organized in order to enable the synergistic action of the chamber and the government, and in the coming period work together to improve the legal framework and expand the available support," said Milatović.

Milatov also said that the department he leads "continually implements activities to improve the competitiveness of the Montenegrin economy", and that the importance of craftsmanship is recognized as one of the main driving forces of economic development.

"An integral part of the comprehensive reforms of the economic and social environment are also the reforms concerning entrepreneurship, and therefore craftsmanship, as a kind of entrepreneurial profession. Bearing in mind that entrepreneurial energy is a specific and extremely rare resource in every society, we need to lead an economic policy which, in this sense, will continuously encourage the agents of the economic system to discover and take advantage of market opportunities", said Milatović.

As announced by the Ministry of Economic Development, Milatović said that in the previous period, craft activity was characterized by stagnation in relation to the importance it should have in the economy, as well as that many crafts have been disappearing or shutting down for a long time.

With the aim of reviving and stronger affirmation of craft activities and traditional artisans, the Ministry of Economic Development is undertaking, as they stated, measures to improve the institutional framework for the development of this segment of the economy.

"Measures include continuing to provide financial support that is specifically intended for entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and artisans, as well as eliminating administrative barriers, with a clear legislative framework. These and other measures we are undertaking are producing visible results, however, we are aware that there is there is still a lot of room for improvement of the framework for performing craft activities," said Milatović.

He reminded that the Ministry of Economic Development in the past period worked intensively on the Action Plan for the development of handicrafts, which will strengthen the role and powers of the JU Chamber of Crafts, improve the available financial support for the development of handicrafts, the legislative framework, and strengthen human resources.

The start of implementation of the Action Plan is expected soon, and as Milatović pointed out, the Chamber of Crafts will have strong support from the Ministry of Economic Development.