PM Krivokapić and his associates pay visit to Municipality of Tivat

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić paid a visit today to the municipality of Tivat. The delegation of the Government of Montenegro also included Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ratko Mitrović and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Aleksandar Stijović. The Prime Minister was welcomed by President of the Municipality of Tivat Željko Komnenović, President of the Municipal Assembly Andrija Petković and Vice Presidents of the Municipality Vladimir Arsić and Goran Božović.

PM Krivokapić thanked for the warm welcome and informed the representatives of the local government about the Governmentʹs activities, so that the upcoming tourist season would be at the projected level of 50% - 55% compared to the 2019 tourist season. The Prime Minister emphasised that it is most realistic to expect a visit from tourists from the region, as well as tourists from the Russian Federation, because significant contacts have been made with the Russian market.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Montenegro is faced with the fact that the EU has its own principles and criteria during the COVID-19 crisis, but expressed hope that positive surprises and developments could occur in this regard, especially when it comes to tourists coming from Hungary.

Prime Minister Krivokapić also hinted at solving the problem of health care in the Bay of Kotor, especially during the tourist season.

"We are considering a very tempting project, which implies setting up a modular Regional COVID centre, which is a precondition for providing safe health care for the local population, but also for tourists," said Krivokapić.

The meeting discussed the largest foreign investments in the municipality of Tivat, Luštica Bay and Porto Montenegro, as well as the relationship between investors and municipal management, and the problems that this municipality and the area have with wastewater, sewerage and water supply, but also with the former government which, as the representatives of the local self-government pointed out, "skipped" the regular procedures at lower levels and in the line ministries.

President of the Municipality of Tivat Željko Komnenović informed Prime Minister Krivokapić about the financial problems and doubts that they inherited from the previous government.

Komnenović pointed out that in the coming period a meeting will be organised with representatives of the largest foreign investors in Tivat, project management of Luštica Bay and Porto Montenegro.

Komnenović also informed Prime Minister Krivokapić about the potentially very promising contacts with the Russian city of Omsk and the readiness of the local authorities of this city and the Siberian region to invest in Montenegro and open a regular flight to Tivat.

Furthermore, Komnenović pointed out that activities are underway to activate the charter line Niš - Tivat.

Municipality President Komnenović agreed that the planned Covid Hospital is something that the Montenegrin coast and elite, cruise tourism sorely need, and that only in this way it is possible to save lives and the tourist season.

Representatives of the Government and local self-government agreed that all cases within the legal competence of local self-government should not be "moved" to the state level in the future, and that some issues due to their complexity must be treated in close cooperation and agreement between local authorities and public administration. The latest in a series of bad examples where the problem of centralization of power comes to the fore is the current problem regarding the ownership of Tivat Airport, as well as the election of the Management Board of this airport in which there are no citizens of Tivat.