Minister Damjanović meets UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro Daniela Gasparikova

Minister of Science Dr. Sanja Damjanović met today with UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro Ms. Daniela Gasparikova.

This was the first meeting of the Minister of Science and the recently appointed UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro, in which Minister Damjanović presented the activities of the Ministry, expressing desire for strong cooperation with UNDP, in particular with a view to utilise its expertise and connection with the UN system, the EU and other international organisations. In addition, the minister took the opportunity to indicate great potential of our region that used to have a good reputation in science and technology, which means that there is a foundation for its return to the scene, primarily through projects such as SEEIIST.

Ms. Gasparikova thanked Minister Damjanović for her time and congratulated her on achieving the critical impetus in the SEEIIST initiative (signing of the Memorandum) and other unique and sophisticated areas of activity of the Ministry, which, according to her, showed and confirmed the potential of Montenegro, especially through the already adopted Smart Specialisation Strategy.

Furthermore, UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro announced that the new national Human Development Report, devoted to digitalisation, would be presented by the UNDP by the end of the year. Also, UNDP will work on the preparation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, where the sectors of water management, tourism and agriculture are of particular importance. Finally, UNDP focuses especially on the management of food waste and digitalisation of the entire food production chain. All these areas coincide with the S3 Strategy.

The meeting was also attended by Branka Žižić, Acting Director General of the Directorate for Innovation and Technological Development, who highlighted the potential areas of cooperation with UNDP in the coming period, particularly in relation to the Support Programme for Innovative Start-ups, adopted last December.

In conclusion, at the end of the meeting, both sides indicated that there were a lot of opportunities that should be used with a view to communication and cooperation to be further developed operationally.