The connection of Montenegro's railway and road infrastructure with neighboring countries is still facing a number of challenges, said Aleksandar Mitrović, Secretary of the Transport Association Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PKCG), at the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative Forum (AIC Forum) in Portorož.
At the panel Road Infrastructure and Bottlenecks at the Borders of the Adriatic-Ionian Region: Challenges and Solutions, he said that the challenges are the physical infrastructure of border crossings, insufficient harmonisation and coordination of the work of various inspection services, which often operate without uniform procedures and electronic data exchange.
According to him, regional mechanisms such as the Transport Community Treaty play a key role in encouraging infrastructure development, regulatory harmonisation and strengthening institutional capacities of the Western Balkan countries. Through this framework, Montenegro receives support for harmonisation with EU transport legislation, including regulations on safety, environmental protection, interoperability and digitalisation.
"To this end, PKCG, in partnership with the relevant institutions, is developing an electronic consignment note system, or e-CMR. In this way, the digitalization of goods documents will reduce costs for the economy, reduce waiting times at border crossings, simplify procedures and remove bottlenecks in cross-border traffic," said Mitrović.
Vice President Pavle D. Radovanović also participated in the Forum, on the topic of improving road and rail connectivity in the Adriatic-Ionian region by addressing cross-border challenges through institutional dialogue and insights from the regional chambers of commerce.
The Minister of Transport, Maja Vukićević, participated at the same event in the ministerial panel discussion Improving road and rail connectivity in the Adriatic-Ionian region, with a special focus on regional cooperation and European integration through infrastructure development.
Vukićević, as announced by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro, emphasized the key role of the European Union in supporting infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans, especially in Montenegro, through mechanisms such as IPA funds and the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
She presented in detail Montenegro's strategic projects: the completion of the Bar–Boljare highway as a key freight corridor and the construction of a high-speed road along the Montenegrin coast, which will connect Montenegro with Croatia and Albania.
Vukićević paid special attention to the reform of the railway sector. Speaking about regional cooperation, she pointed out that Montenegro is intensively developing infrastructure projects with Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Regional cooperation and infrastructure connectivity are not just technical issues, they are strategic prerequisites for economic growth, political stability and European integration," said Vukićević.
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