Press release: Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic meets UNICEF Area Representative Ann-Lis Svensson

Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic met with Area Representative of the United Nations Childrens Fund Ann-Lis Svensson in Podgorica today, as part of Ms Svenssons official visit to Montenegro.

Ms Svensson congratulated the Government of Montenegro for the accomplishments made both in terms of resolving the state status and in terms of results achieved in different areas of social life. She also presented UNICEFs new Program for Montenegro for 2007-2008, adopted by the organizations Executive Board last September. The main purpose of the Program is to help protect and promote the rights and the position of children as the most vulnerable category of population in a period of transition.

The Prime Minister thanked UNICEF and Ms Svensson personally for the contribution in the development of relations and cooperation between that international organization and government authorities in the context of protecting and promoting childrens rights. He expressed interest and hope that such cooperation would not only be continued in the next period, but also intensified, prompted by the new circumstances of Montenegros independence. The cooperation should be parcicularly intensive when it comes to the development of programs and implementation of recommendations and standards arising from relevant documents of the United Nations and the European Union in the key areas of protecting and promoting childrens rights.

Both sides supported the idea of forming a National Child Care Committee to coordinate the implementation of relevant programs in the area of protecting the position and rights of children.

Hopes were expressed that cooperation in the next period would be further developed and reinforced, encouraged by promoting the rank of UNICEFs representation office in Montenegro, in accordance with its status of an independent state and a full member of the United Nations.