Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić said in Podgorica that there is potential for increasing the volume of trade between Serbia and Montenegro to 1 billion euros.
“The volume of trade was 620 million euros in the year 2014, which is unsatisfactory if we bear in mind the good relations between the two countries, their complementary economies, geographical and cultural closeness,” said Ljajić after meeting with the Minister of Tourism and Sustainable Development Branimir Gvozdenović, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro and Minister for Information Society and Telecommunications Vujica Lazović and the Minister of EconomyVladimir Kavarić.
Ljajić said that one of the objectives of his visit to Podgorica has been to agree on a joint sitting of the two governments, adding that the first joint session of the governments of Serbia and Montenegro should be held in April at the latest and take good relations between the two countries even further.
He stated that the meeting was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, and Ljajić also discussed with Kavarić prospects for making a joint entry to third markets.
Ljajić also discussed with the Montenegrin Tourism Minister Branimir Gvozdenović the possibility of joint cooperation with third countries and attracting guests from third markets, especially those which are distant.
The first opportunity for joint participation and promotion of this form of cooperation will be during the next Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Budapest.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, tourists from Montenegro are ranked fifth amongst tourists visiting Serbia in terms of their number.
“It is in Serbia’s interest to attract a significantly larger number of Montenegrin tourists than the 60 thousand that visited Serbia last year, but it is also in our interest to have a large number of Serbian tourists visiting Montenegro, as an increase in the number of Serbian tourists in Montenegro by 10 percent would mean an increase in Serbian exports to Montenegro by 15 percent, especially when it comes to the agri-food products,” said Ljajić.
The question of lowering the price of roaming services in the region was brought up at the meeting with the Minister Lazović, and it was decided that roaming between Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia will be gradually lowered from June this year, but the dynamics of lowering the price remains to be determined.
This will be discussed by Minister Ljajić and Lazović with the mobile operators in their countries, in order to facilitate achieving the goal of equalizing the price of roaming in the region with the prices that are valid today among EU member states, in the next three years.
