Government delegation meets with Italian Minister Schillaci

A delegation of the Government of Montenegro, led by Deputy Prime Minister Srđan Pavićević, who also serves as the Chairman of the Government Commission for the Enhancement of Modalities for Strengthening Relations between Montenegro and the Republic of Italy, along with Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun, commenced their first working visit to Italy today.

On the first day of the visit, Deputy Prime Minister Pavićević and Health Minister Šimun, along with their associates, held a meeting with Italy's Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci.

The meeting with Minister Schillaci focused on exploring opportunities to improve and enhance the Montenegrin healthcare system through collaboration with leading healthcare institutions in Italy, as well as potential cooperation and support from Italy in implementing key infrastructure projects in Montenegro.

Full agreement was reached on the plan and areas of potential cooperation.

The era of promising yet vague memorandums of cooperation is over. We have our ambitions and are here to negotiate concrete actions leading to their realization. Following Rome, we will visit pediatric clinic Meyer in Florence, as well as hospitals in Vicenza and Milan, aiming to establish direct collaboration. Our discussions with Mr. Schillaci have opened doors for partnerships with all healthcare institutions in Italy that we recognize as desirable and suitable partners, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

The discussions also touched on topics such as modern prevention, health tourism, the institute in Igalo, and potential investments in building a new clinical centre in Montenegro. Deputy Prime Minister Pavićević expressed hope that we can unite all our European friends on this project, to 'Europeanize Montenegrin medicine if possible even before we become an official EU member.'

Summing up the impressions from the talks with his Italian counterpart, Minister Šimun emphasised: We had an outstanding meeting with Minister Schillaci. Italy provides full support for Montenegro's European integration through full support for aligning Montenegro's healthcare system with EU standards. Many topics based on the EU4Health programme were raised. There is a clear and open possibility for cooperation in areas such as digitalization and telemedicine, in which Italy has extensive expertise. We continue our cooperation, renewing the transplantation programme, but there is also an opportunity for cooperation in health tourism, led by the Simo Milošević Institute in Igalo. Italy can also be a desirable partner in revitalizing this giant.

Both sides concluded that the exchanged ideas must be implemented through the Memorandum of Understanding in the healthcare sector signed between the two states in 2014, and the scope of cooperation strengthened and enriched with top-notch content that will be concretized in agreements with various clinics and other institutions in Italy.

The objective of this working visit, lasting until 28 March 2024, is to establish direct and open channels of continuous communication with Italy, a founding member of the EU, which strongly supports EU enlargement. Additionally, the visit aims to build a strategic partnership towards Montenegro's EU membership, a primary foreign policy priority of the Montenegrin Government. It also seeks collaboration and support from Italy in implementing crucial infrastructure projects in Montenegro, with a particular emphasis on labour, education, healthcare, and social policies.