PM Marković in Berane: You have full support of Government – our partnership is based on trust

Berane, Montenegro (18 July 2017) -- Prime Minister Duško Marković met in Berane today with the leadership of the Municipality, led by the Mayor Dragoslav Šćekić. The meeting expressed absolute agreement on the topics of further development of Berane and cooperation between the Government and the Municipality.

Both the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Berane expressed their satisfaction with the meeting, stressing the need and importance of cooperation in the implementation of projects whose goals are the development of the Northern Region and raising the living standards and quality of life. In this regard, the Prime Minister emphasized the necessity of the partnership between the Government and the local government, emphasizing that this partnership should be based on trust and general interests, and not necessarily on political consent. "Priorities are community, state interest and quality of life, not personal interests. This municipality is ready to cooperate with the Government and has the support of the Government, unlike some municipalities where the opposition that is in power do not want to cooperate,“ Prime Minister Marković said.

The Prime Minister informed the officials from the Municipality of Berane about strategic priorities of the Government regarding the development of the North of our country, saying that the Northern Region is a priority of the Government. In this context, Marković highlighted that this year's capital budget envisages EUR 220 million for the Northern Region and that more infrastructure projects are involved in this part of Montenegro. The Prime Minister reiterated that the Northern Region of Montenegro has a great chance of development, adding that all municipalities in the North have the support of the Government and the support of the Prime Minister personally.

The Mayor thanked the Prime Minister and the Government for the cooperation so far, saying that Berane has been visited by several ministers and that cooperation with the Government has already brought positive results and created a good basis for improving cooperation. Mayor Šćekić informed the Prime Minister about the cases of slow response of certain segments of the state administration to the demands of the local government, which slows down the realisation of projects and represents business barriers.

"As a local government, we are very slow and we have lost a lot of time. We need your help," the Mayor of Berane said, thanking the Prime Minister for his cooperation and speeding up some processes.

During the meeting, a number of concrete topics were discussed, among which are local infrastructure, especially the route towards Rujišta, mini-hydroelectric projects at the City Waterworks, construction of wastewater treatment plants and sewerage network and completion of the sports hall.

Prime Minister Duško Marković and Mayor Dragoslav Šćekić explicitly repeated the absolute agreement with the Government's decision that the headquarters of the Medical School will stay at the same place, in Berane.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO