Montenegro will continue its partnership with the World Bank (WB) through the new five-year Cooperation Partnership Framework (CPF), which includes ambitious projects worth 350 million dollars, the Ministry of Finance announced.
The projects should contribute to the improvement of waste management, protection of water resources, reform in the field of forestry, promotion of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, as well as adaptation to climate change and preservation of natural areas.
The decarbonization project, whose conclusion is expected by the end of the year, was highlighted as particularly significant, and will play a key role in the further transformation of the energy sector and the fulfillment of international obligations in that area by 2030.
The Minister of Finance, Novica Vuković, met with the team of that international institution, led by the head of the SB office for Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christopher Sheldon. The meeting was held on the topic Review of investment projects of the Government financed by the SB loan.
"The meeting was an opportunity for the team of the Ministry of Finance, together with the multi-decade partner, SB, with whom, through various projects, investments worth 523 million euros have been realized so far, to analyze the achieved results and the dynamics of the implementation of those projects, as well as to identify challenges in during their implementation," the Ministry's announcement states.
Vuković thanked for the significant long-term support provided by the SB to Montenegro and emphasized that he will intensify all the necessary activities, in order to encourage progress in the process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union (EU), through the effective withdrawal of funds and accelerated implementation of reforms.
Sheldon expressed his gratitude to the Government for the preparation of the common CPF for the period from next year to 2029, which was adopted by the SB in September.
"The first project under the new CPF, the Policy Based Loan (PPL), in the amount of EUR 80 million, was approved in October, marking a strong start to the implementation of the new strategy, which is based on a strong multi-year partnership between the SB and the Government ", the Ministry reminded.
In partnership with the SB, projects are currently being implemented in the fields of agriculture, rural development and fisheries, modernization of tax administration, improvement of energy efficiency, as well as the implementation of integrated development programs for the corridors of the rivers Sava and Drina, with additional investments in facilitating trade and transport in the Western Balkans. .
Vuković said that of the total value of joint active projects of 84,3 million euros, as much as 61 percent of contracted funds are still unused, and that some projects in the current portfolio were started as early as 2018.
He emphasized that the priority of this Government is to intensify efforts, in order to make up for the backlog from the previous period and to achieve the planned goals and efficiently manage the investments available to us.
Vuković also announced that for the current Government, the timely implementation of projects is extremely important, especially from the point of view of the relevant Ministry, considering that the unused part of the funds entails costs, while it is necessary to speed up the withdrawal of funds from existing loans.
Sheldon welcomed the Government's intention to work even more effectively on the implementation of existing and preparation of new investment projects, which will greatly help the realization of the reform agenda of Montenegro.
During the meeting, in addition to the analysis of the current status of joint projects, the next steps of cooperation were defined, with the clear goal of developing Montenegro.
"The meeting was also attended by representatives of the project teams and relevant ministries, who, through an open and substantive discussion, contributed to finding solutions to overcome challenges in the implementation of investment projects implemented by the Government of Montenegro with the support of the SB," the statement concludes.
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