Signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the UNDP and the Ministry of Economic Development

Daniela Gašparíková, UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro

Opening remarks at the event on the occasion of signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the UNDP and the Ministry of Economic Development

Dear Minister Milatovic, Ladies and Gentlemen,

• It is my pleasure to be here today and use this opportunity to reiterate once again the successful cooperation between UNDP and Ministry of Economic Development in the area of the establishment and developing stimulating innovation ecosystem. This partnership shall be additionally confirmed by signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties today, and relating to the broader cooperation between our two institutions in this area.
• Our joint efforts strive towards the common aim – ensuring that the innovation as well as scientific and research community will find their well-deserved niche on the Balkan and European map of innovators.  Further development and diversification of the Montenegrin economy depends on our fundamental understanding that innovation truly matters. Creative and innovative individuals and communities carry a potential which is gradually being tapped into through a steady growth of innovative companies and innovators in the country.
• The Government of Montenegro has already shown its unequivocal commitment to implement effective policies to maximize their own contributions to spurring innovation. By creating adequate conditions and establishing enabling environment for innovation, Montenegro has defined a clear pathway it wishes to pursue, in order to be recognized as the destination with prominent innovation potential.
• In the previous period, UNDP, together with the Government of Montenegro, has worked on establishing a legal framework in the field of innovation - important laws and bylaws were adopted, a roadmap for implementation of the innovation policies was created, innovation programs were defined in accordance with the key components of the S3 strategy.
• As our joint journey continues, we are looking forward to a series of interventions to further strengthen the innovation ecosystem in Montenegro to be implemented through the 2^nd phase of the project “Norway for you”, which is generously supported by the Government of Norway.
• We hope that our efforts will contribute to improved positioning of Montenegro within the Global Innovation Index 2021, where the country is in the category of modest innovators, currently occupying the 50^th position out of 132 countries ranked. After all, it is our joint mission to put to work legislative preconditions and institutional framework so as to enable unleashing Montenegro’s innovation potential.
• Now that we have jointly established the basic preconditions and paved the way for more concrete and comprehensive support to the innovation community on the ground, we expect to see innovative ideas shaped and realized in the near future.
• On that note, I will take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Economic Development for excellent cooperation and putting trust in UNDP in this endeavour. With the wishes for the successful implementation of the MoU signed today, I am impatient to see further results of our joint work which I have no doubt will be beneficial for the entire Montenegrin community.