Open Government Partnership conference welcomes Montenegro’s efforts

Brasilia, Brazil (18 April 2012) – The first annual two-day conference of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) is taking place in Brazil’s capital under the auspices of President Dilma Rouseff. The conference gathers over 50 countries of the world devoted to improving government transparency.

In her speech, the US State Secretary Hillary Clinton welcomed Montenegro’s efforts towards enhancing government transparency. She in particular stressed the importance of e-petitions, a project Prime Minister Igor Lukšić announced in his annual press conference in late December, which will enable the citizens’ greater involvement in policy-making by allowing them to petition their ideas to decision-makers.

The Montenegrin delegation presented the activities Government has undertaken towards greater transparency, better public services, efficient public resources management, creating safer communities, and boosting corporate responsibility. They also stressed the activities planned for the near future, and in particular the new free access to information law, e-petitions, new whistleblowers protection law, improving the e-Government web-portal, and enabling easier NGO involvement in the work of Government bodies.

The second conference day will be dedicated to themed sessions and discussions where the participants will be able to learn about the challenges that loom on the path towards greater Government transparency.

Montenegro’s representatives at the conference came from the Prime Minister’s and the Deputy Prime Minister’s offices, finance ministry, and a prominent NGO.