Agreed liberalization of bilateral and transit cargo transportation in international road transport

The Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Osman Nurkovic, visited Sofia, Bulgaria, during which he met with his colleague Rosen Jeliazkov, Minister of Traffic, Information Technology and Communications.

The main goal of the visit was the signing of the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on the transport of passengers and freight in international road traffic regulating transport relations in a modern way, facilitating the flow of goods and passengers and removing administrative barriers. The text of the agreement between the two governments was agreed during the meeting of the Mixed Commission on Transport of Passengers and Freight in International Road Traffic in Sofia, Bulgaria on 27 and 28 September 2017, when the Draft was initialed. During the meetings of the Mixed Commission, the liberalization of bilateral and transit freight transport was agreed and this burden was exempted from the permit regime.

During the bilateral meeting, two ministers discussed the possibilities of further advancing cooperation in the fields of maritime, rail and air traffic. Regarding the maritime traffic area, Minister Nurkovic is equally important for signing the Agreement for the Seafarers' Certification with the Republic of Bulgaria and other EU countries to enable our sailors to sail on the vessels of these countries, as well as the need to exchange experiences in the field of seafarer database creation . In addition to this, Minister Jeliazkov and his associates expressed the desire to exchange knowledge and expertise in the field of cruising tourism and the development of ports.

Regarding rail traffic, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria's delegation shared their experience in the field of railway rehabilitation and the establishment of an operational investment and property management system in this sector.

Given that the World Bank and IFC are involved in the process of granting airport concessions in the Republic of Bulgaria, the two ministers discussed the progress made in granting the concession for the airport in Sofia as well as preparations for a similar tendering procedure for the airport in Plovdiv. The concession for the airport in Sofia is given for 35 years, with the expectation that at least 500 million euros will be provided from the concession, of which 280 million euros will be paid in advance, as well as the requirement to invest in a new passenger terminal of about 600 million euros. The first phase of the tender procedure resulted in 5 applications from the current airport operators in Manchester, Copenhagen, Munich, Frakfurt and Paris.

During the second part of the day, the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria's delegation presented its latest information systems for road traffic. These IT systems provide more transparent and efficient administration work and largely remove business barriers for businessmen. Particular attention has been paid to the implementation of the latest European directives from social legislation or smart tachographs, as well as training and electronic verification of future drivers' knowledge in order to issue permits in a way that is completely free of human error or intervention.

The two ministers have especially recognized the importance of further concretizing the cooperation in the field of road and maritime traffic, agreeing that it is necessary to establish a Mixed Commission consisting of representatives of the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria as soon as possible and to exchange knowledge and experience, but also the formulation of the Agreement that will guide the realization and implementation of the two countries' interests.

In addition to Minister Nurkovic, the Delegation of the Government of Montenegro was also General Director of the Directorate for Road Traffic, Dalibor Milosevic, Office of Chartered Officer at the Montenegrin Embassy in the Republic of Bulgaria, Jelena Filipovic, and Independent Advisor Bilsana Bibic.