Spajić: Montenegrin officials already indirectly receive expert support from the Government of Singapore

Montenegrin officials already indirectly receive expert support from the Government of Singapore, through trainings organized for other countries.

This is stated in the announcement of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, from the meeting that the Prime Minister had with the Minister for Digital Development and Information of Singapore, Josephine Teo.

Spajić said that Singapore is setting standards in the process of digitization of public administration and therefore should be a role model for Montenegro, how to rapidly end that process, which is very important for the lives of citizens.

He said that this Asian country is considered one of the global leaders in this field, "and their e-government system is extremely efficient, accessible and innovative, so the cooperation of the Ministry of Public Administration with colleagues from Singapore is a way to implement in Montenegro similar systems".

"We see room for expanding cooperation in the areas of digital transformation and artificial intelligence. The MJU planned the development of an Artificial Intelligence Strategy for 2025, and recognizing Singapore's experience and expertise in these spheres, we see a chance for the exchange of knowledge and good practices, which will further strengthen our capacity to implement advanced technologies in the public sector," Spajić pointed out.

Teo, who is at the head of the process of the so-called smart nations believes that digitization is extremely important for attracting the most famous companies, because the influence of the IT industry is constantly growing and it is an important part of the economy.

"We will be happy to help Montenegro in this important process. We are part of an alliance that shares digital public goods, and a good part of our programs is open source and available to your country. Through the smart nation program, we were initially focused on the digitization of the economy, and we are working on the inclusion of all parts of the population, but also how to strengthen connections in the community, which have weakened due to the use of modern technologies," said Teo.

As it is written in the announcement, during the meeting there was also talk about the retraining of the workforce, which Singapore is constantly implementing and creating the staff necessary to keep up with the demands of the market.

Spajić announced that Montenegro also intends to diversify its workforce through short courses.

"While investing in the development of human capital, you must ensure that they get a chance to work in Montenegro, so that they can help the development of your country. Cooperation with companies is important in this sense, because the trainings must be consistent with what the economy needs, so that qualified candidates have a chance to work immediately," Teo explained.

"The export of information technology products is a very important part of Singapore's economy, and special attention is paid to cyber and digital security, that's why during the meeting between Prime Minister Spajić and the other Minister of Internal Affairs, Teo, there was also the possibility of cooperation and security on the Internet," he adds. in the announcement.

It is stated that Montenegro already had contact with Singapore's experiences in that field, as Montenegrin representatives were part of the program organized by the National University of Singapore (NUS), the United Nations (UN) and the Singapore Cyber ​​Security Agency (CSA).

"We believe that we can find models of cooperation with Singapore in all these areas, through training for our staff, possibly also models of cooperation through joint ventures, investments... We must become proactive in this field, in order to enable the removal of business barriers and create a paperless administration" , Spajić said.

"Singapore's proactivity, Teo stated, is also reflected in the increasingly frequent use of artificial intelligence, in order to automate various segments of public administration, but also to analyze numerous data essential for decision-making and improving services for citizens. The Singapore government has already enabled citizens to receive via 1000 services online, and with the completion of the 'Ready for the Future' program, they want to improve it during 2025," the announcement concludes.

Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić said today that Singapore technology is available to Montenegro.

Spajić is on an official visit to Singapore.

"Singaporean technology available to Montenegro, digitization of public administration for easier life of citizens and functioning of the economy," Spajić wrote on the X social network.

He also posted photos from a meeting with Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo.

During the visit, which will last until Wednesday, Spajić will have a meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lorens Wong.

As previously announced by the Government, he will also have a series of separate meetings with ministers in the Government of Singapore, on topics related to the economy and the policy of economic growth, the promotion of foreign trade, the creation of new jobs, the competitiveness of the workforce, retraining and specialization of the workforce. , as well as on the topic of digitization, the growing importance of the IT industry and the impact of artificial intelligence.

As stated in the proposal of the platform for the working visit, which was published on the Government's website, during the visit, Spajić will introduce the representatives of Singapore to the planned reforms in the country, as well as the Government's policies related to the growth of the economy, the competitiveness of the economy, strengthening the capacity of the state administration, as well as and the labor market in Montenegro in general.

"The visit will also be an opportunity to present plans for branding Montenegro as a tourist and attractive investment destination, where we give priority to the realization of large infrastructure and other capital projects," the document adds.

Spajić will introduce the interlocutors to plans for positioning Montenegro as a country that is based to a considerable extent on services, and where digitization will affect the quality of services in both the public and private sectors.

The investment potential and business environment in Montenegro will be presented, and the interest of Singaporean businessmen in investing in Montenegro will be examined, especially in sectors where this country is already globally recognized - tourism, finance, IT services, infrastructure and logistics network.

"We expect the visit to open up space for strengthening political dialogue, bearing in mind that for 15 years there has been no exchange of visits at the highest and highest level between the two countries, as well as intensification of dialogue at the working level," the platform states.

Tourism is an area that carries a high and so far insufficiently used potential for cooperation and exchange of experiences. It will be proposed to establish cooperation between national tourism organizations and to discuss the possibilities and modalities of performing on the Singapore market, in order to strengthen tourist traffic between the two countries.

The Singapore company Aman Resorts is one of the first and major investors in the Montenegrin tourism sector.

The achievements of Singapore and its dynamic transformation from a modest country to a highly developed state is a good opportunity for Montenegro to look at Singapore's good practices, experiences and accept the transfer of knowledge in a number of areas, which will be the subject of discussions with the ministers of trade, human resources and education.