Minister Ivanović spoke at the gathering about the development of economic cooperation between Montenegro and Azerbaijan

Cooperation between Montenegro and Azerbaijan in the area of agriculture could be accomplished in the field of organic production, the development of which has great potential in our country, for the reason of unpolluted environment and land potential available for rent, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Professor Petar Ivanović, PhD speaking at the round table under the title “Economic cooperation between Montenegro and Azerbaijan: partnership for future”.

On the gathering held in Podgorica it was estimated that previous, good economic cooperation between Montenegro and Azerbaijan can be improved, especially in the area of agriculture and tourism, and that potential projects which would primarily connect north and south of the country shall be dealt with more intensely by the representatives of the two countries in the following period.

Minister Ivanović mentioned the projects of producing fodder in Montenegro as possible areas of cooperation, as well as valorization of wood potential in industrial production, bottled water export, fruit and vegetables processing and building plants for processing by-products of animal origin. “Special possibility of investment we see in accomplishing one of priority aims of the Government, and that is linking agriculture to tourism. We are negotiating the possibility of achieving this goal with the investor from Azerbaijan, the company Socar, already present in Montenegro“, said Ivanović.

The ambience for investment in Montenegrin agriculture, as Minister Ivanović said, is all the more attractive since this field marks better and better results. “In the last year we successfully opened over 1,000 work places, invested over eight million euro in various production sectors, increased milk production by 11 percent, decreased import and increased export of food. There is a lot of space for development and other activities. Production in agriculture is growing, rural infrastructure is invested in, a number of companies previously insolvent now do business… we shall continue this trend”, said Ivanović.

He added that key goals, planned to be realized through new investment, are further growth of agricultural production and number of fresh work places, as well as reducing imports.      

Mentioning important Azerbaijani investments in Montenegro, such as the project Portonovi, which should, in his words, generate over 500 million euro of investment, as well as previous projects (the kindergarten in Bijelo Polje and the Park in Podgorica), Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Branimir Gvozdenović said he expected more tourists from this country. He estimated that cooperation with Azerbaijan is one of successful stories in Montenegrin bilateral relations.

Mr. Makhur Gasimli, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said his country seriously invests mainly in its neighboring countries, but “courageously and willingly invests also in Montenegro”. “It is the indicator of good relations with Montenegro. We expect to develop our relations. We also intend to build a tourist resort on the Montenegrin shore, not only to enable new employment and actuate economy, but to attract other investors as well”, announced Mr. Gasimli. He especially emphasized interest for the process of European integrations, which are, as he said, in line with national interests of Azerbaijan.

The round table was mutually organized by the Institute for public policy, think tank organization of Montenegro and the Center for strategic studies from Azerbaijan. The aim of this round table was to present potential models of cooperation within the areas of key importance for both countries.