In an interview for NIN magazine, he said that it is necessary to start a strong investment cycle in the construction of infrastructure – to complete the highway to the north and further to Serbia, start the construction of the Adriatic-Ionian highway and speed up the reconstruction of the Bar-Belgrade railway, in order to return the strategic importance of Luca Bar and thus created a prerequisite for its further development.
“Improving the airport infrastructure, in order to enable the further development of tourism and the extension of the tourist season, but also to improve the accessibility of the Montenegrin economy and its better connection with the rest of the world, is also of great importance”, said Milatović.
He stated that he advocates for additional improvement of the energy network and better connection with neighbors, as well as doubling the capacity of the energy cable between Montenegro and Italy.
“Thus, we would fully valorize all planned investments in the field of renewable energy. These things must be started immediately and it must be the main priority of the government, whoever is sitting there”, said Milatović.
He explained that the Montenegrin economy consists mostly of small and micro enterprises, which must be provided with more favorable financing.
“The same applies to our agricultural producers, who have great potential and need additional support. That was my intention as a minister when I initiated the creation of the Credit Guarantee Fund and with it the necessary Development Bank and a significantly larger agricultural budget.Â
“Reforms of the economic environment, along with a strong improvement of the rule of law, are necessary in order to enable the attraction of credible foreign investors, along with the acceleration of EU integration in order to provide additional European funds”, said Milatović.
He emphasized that foreign investors will be attracted by the predictability of the legal framework and the rule of law, judging that this is more important than tax benefits.
“These are the assumptions on which any sustainable program of economic reforms must rest. And I truly believe that we can achieve our ambitious goals of increasing wages and pensions if we approach these policies seriously and effectively.Â
This is exactly what we insisted on in the government of which I was a member and bearer of economic policies. I expect the same from future governments“, Milatović announced.
When asked whether it is possible to achieve the goals of the Europe Now Movement program, that the average salary in Montenegro be EUR 1,000 this year, and the minimum pension EUR 450, without jeopardizing the country’s public finances, Milatović replied that the economic program for which is advocated based on real foundations.
“I always emphasize that we need to initiate comprehensive reforms, above all of our education system, in order to create healthy foundations for the development of human capital. In addition to this, the improvement of the health system and the reform of the social and pension system are indispensable, in order to ensure their long-term sustainability”, said Milatović.
When asked how, as a former minister of economic development, he views actions to lower prices in many countries of the region, with the aim of fighting inflation, Milatović replied that he welcomes all actions aimed at reducing prices, all with the intention of mitigating serious negative effects on the standards of citizens who are caused by inflation.
“I followed such actions in neighboring countries, and the Government in Podgorica is making the same efforts. We must understand that we live in open economies, where as small import-dependent countries we often do not have adequate instruments to respond to external economic shocks and imported inflation, first as a result of the pandemic, and later the war in Ukraine”, said Milatović.
He stated that in Montenegro it is clear that without domestic production and control of its resources, the consequences can be really bad for households.
“We were lucky that we do not depend on natural gas for energy and that we control our key energy resources, so we kept the prices in the electricity sector and even partially preserved the standard of the citizens.Â
“Unfortunately, due to weak domestic food production, where we mainly depend on imports, as well as due to the fact that we are a small market dominated by large retail chains, our inflation was particularly pronounced in the food sector”, stated Milatović.
According to him, governments can mitigate the consequences and can influence the correction of some internal economic deficiencies, but they can hardly influence the causes of the latest inflationary trends – such as pandemics or wars.
“That’s why I appreciate the governments’ efforts, some measures can be better, sometimes you can react faster, but we have to understand that it is not easy to give a local response to the complex problems of the international economy and geopolitics”, concluded Milatović.
Montenegro business destination. Don’t go there, live there.
