Paving the way forward: Joint vision of future cooperation

Podgorica, 10 December 2021

A strong consensus on three priority areas in which the UN can make a difference in Montenegro in the next five years was the major result of the Strategic Prioritization Retreat of the Government representatives and the UN team in the country, co-hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Đorđe Radulović and UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro Peter Lundberg.

With the overall aim to accelerate the country’s achievement of Agenda 2030 and national development priorities, the Government and the UN team jointly laid the foundation of the next strategic programme UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2023-2027.

“Strategic areas which we jointly identified, along with projected results, are fully complementary with Montenegro’s commitments within the EU integration process, but also with our commitments to achieve Sustainable Development Goals within the Agenda 2030. In addition, they are also aligned with Government’s mid-term working plan,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Đorđe Radulović who thanked the UN Country Team for a long-term support and constructive cooperation.

A roadmap of the next five-year cooperation between UN and Montenegro will be based on collaboration in three strategic areas:

1. Inclusive economic development and environmental sustainability,
2. Human capital development, reducing vulnerabilities and social inclusion,
3. Social cohesion, people-centered governance, rule of law and human rights

“The foundation of the next cooperation programme which we sealed today is a result of a highly consultative process with a truly bottom-up approach where we all came together – government institutions, civil society and international organisations. This approach, we believe will serve best national interests and help the Government achieve its priorities and speed up achieving SDGs, and it will also help the country advance towards its EU accession,” said the UN Resident Coordinator Peter Lundberg who commended Government’s ownership over the collaboration with the UN.

The strategic discussion gathered around 100 participants, both offline and online, to agree on the four strategic outcomes of the new five-year joint development programme for the period 2023-2027.

Through the participatory planning process, representatives of the Government and the UN had the opportunity to take part in focused discussions on each of the four outcomes, analyzing uncertainties and challenges as well as opportunities and potentials in the areas where the UN can bring added value to the country in progressing towards the EU accession.

In-depth consultations ensured that the next strategic plan of Montenegro-UN cooperation is based on factual country needs and realistic capacities of both sides.

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