Montenegro must be persistent in the professionalization of the security services, President Jakov Milatović said at the opening of the First International Conference of Montenegrin Security Managers, which is being held today and tomorrow in Budva.
The conference is organized by the Association of Security Managers of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Association of Corporate Security Managers of Southeast Europe.
As reported by the Association of Security Managers of Montenegro, Milatović said that Montenegro must be safe for those who live there, but also for those who come to visit it.
"We must be persistent in the process of professionalizing the security services," said Milatović, who is the patron of the Conference.
The national imperative, he added, must be to create a safe environment that is a prerequisite for the accelerated development of the Montenegrin economy.
He reminded that NATO clearly recognizes the strategic importance of Montenegro in strengthening the stability of the region.
"Our task is, therefore, to be persistent in the process of professionalizing the security services.
"This message must be one of the loudest sent by the top of the state, because the security sector is the first in the chain of absolute application of the best international practices and standards that must be equally valid in the United States of America, Germany or Montenegro," Milatović pointed out.
He emphasized that security has long been not only the protection of borders and sovereignty of geographical space, but that the strength of a modern state is measured by its ability to protect its virtual space as well.
"In the years behind us, we have witnessed, among other things, an extensive cyber attack on state institutions, but also other extraordinary events," said Milatović.
As he added, despite the undoubted progress, this issue requires additional interventions.
"The protection of online space is especially important when we talk about corporate security, which plays a key role in protecting companies, and thus economic activities, from various threats and risks," Milatović said.
He said that effective corporate security ensures stable operations, increases the trust of clients and investors and minimizes potential losses.
Milatović added that he is convinced that the country is not alone in that process.
"Montenegro recently has a new and, I believe, reliable partner. It's you - the Association of Security Managers of Montenegro with colleagues from the Association of Corporate Security Managers of Southeastern Europe," emphasized Milatović.
The Association of Security Managers reminded that this organization signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro, stating that the relevant minister, Dragan Krapović, at the opening of today's conference, pointed out that security is the key priority of every state and community.
"New and increasingly different threats and challenges require a quick, efficient and coordinated response," said Krapović, adding that, in this context, the role of the security manager is increasingly important.
According to Krapović, security management is not only a matter of military actions or tactics.
"It is a complex process that requires a holistic approach and the cooperation of different social sectors. Our ability to recognize, analyze and react to various security threats directly affects the stability and prosperity of our country, but also of the region", stated Krapović.
He pointed out that one of the key security challenges today is in the cyber domain.
"In the era of digitization, cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated and more frequent. In order to effectively respond to these threats, it is necessary to continuously improve our technological capacities and to develop data and information protection strategies", said Krapović.
As he added, the increasingly rapid development of technology brings new tools and opportunities to improve security, although it also opens up space for vulnerabilities that must be carefully addressed.
Krapović reminded that the traditional challenges facing the whole world, such as conventional war, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and regional tensions, should not be ignored.
The President of the Association of Security Managers of Montenegro, Dragan Radulović, said that the goal of the conference is to prevent and curb the so-called "normalization of risk".
"As the organizers of the first security gathering of this kind in our country, we have the responsibility to jointly and loudly announce that Montenegro does not have the luxury of observing global turmoil from a distance at any time," said Radulović.
As he added, Montenegro does not even have the luxury of lightly stating "That cannot happen to us".
"We are not expected to build systems that are unknown to the modern world, but to apply the best practice and the highest professional standards," said Radulović.
According to him, we are witnessing a series of crises from which we would have to learn lessons.
This, he added, is the first step towards prevention and a stable way for professionals to always be, when possible, one step ahead of the expected risk.
"The alternative is to be surprised and taken aback in every emergency situation. Our obligation is to recognize the risks, to present the expected scenarios in the event of a crisis and to present recommendations in order to reduce any undesirable pattern to a minimum or to eliminate it entirely", concluded Radulović.
Alen Ostojić, chairman of the Association for Corporate Security of Southeastern Europe, drew attention to the range of threats.
“Cyber attacks, terrorism, geopolitical tensions and open armed conflicts, supply chain vulnerability, health crises, banditry, fraud, corruption, radicalization. We are faced with the continuous development of risks, a multiple portfolio of challenges and threat vectors, domestic and international, which directly threaten the security of nation states, business organizations and individuals", explained Ostojić.
The growing amount of threats, he said, demands the undivided attention of companies and corporate leaders, who have a responsibility to ensure that employees and assets, business operations and customers are protected.
"The synergy between law enforcement and corporate, that is, private security, through public-private partnerships is a key pillar for increasing community security and resilience on a global level," Ostojić said.
As he said, the complexity of today's security challenges requires a collaborative approach, taking advantage of the unique strengths and resources of both sectors.
The Association of Security Managers said that, at the two-day meeting, topics such as the protection of critical infrastructure in Montenegro and the region, the challenges of modern cyber security, the management of incident situations at sea and ports, hotel security and crisis management, the security of banking clients and private security in Montenegro and the region.
The participants of the conference are security experts from Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Finland and Great Britain.
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