Montenegro fully committed to the Sustainable Development Goals

Podgorica, 8 September 2023

The President of Montenegro H.E. Jakov Milatović visited the UN Eco House in Podgorica to meet the UN Country Team in Montenegro.

President said that the United Nations plays a key role in encouraging international cooperation, solving global challenges, promoting peace, security and sustainable development, and that Montenegro, as a member country, highly values the principles and values of United Nations and is deeply committed to cooperate with the organization to achieve jointly defined goals.

"Our meeting today marks the strength of our partnership and the importance of cooperation with the United Nations. It is an opportunity for us to reafirm our commitment and highlight the support provided by the UN in strengthening our country's path towards democratic and economic development. The challenges we face in today's world are complex, from climate change and environmental sustainability to issues of peace and security, humanitarian crises and global health threats, and no country is immune to these changes. Therefore, the support of the United Nations is the foundation on which we can build sustainable growth and prosperity," said President.

He reminded that joint efforts in numerous areas such as reducing poverty, creating new jobs, improving access to quality education and healthcare, sustainable development, gender equality, encouraging entrepreneurship, strengthening the agricultural and industrial sectors and all others defined by the national cooperation framework, show mutual commitment acceleration of Montenegro's progress towards Agenda 2030 and accession to the European Union.

In this context, President Milatović pointed out that it is extremely important to take concrete steps to face the challenges as quickly and efficiently as possible.

"The Montenegro SDG Acceleration Fund is an excellent example of how this can be achieved, not only as a financial mechanism, but a powerful tool of influence, given that it aligns with our national development program, strengthening our ability to achieve development goals. It provides the resources needed to increase our efforts, invest in innovative solutions and progress in all areas of sustainable development,” said President.

He thanked the United Nations for constant efforts for resolving these issues and said that Montenegro is ready to play the role of a responsible member of the international community, and that the country is fully committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the obligations arising from the Paris Agreement on climate change. He emphasized that at the upcoming UN General Assembly and the SDG Summit our country will reafirm its commitment to those ideals on the global stage and its determination to deal with the challenges it faces on this path.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Peter Lundberg thanked the President, on behalf of the UN Team in the country, for the visit and expressed appreciation for Montenegro’s thorough preparations for the upcoming SDG Summit.

"We especially welcome the national declaration of commitment through which Montenegro articulates concrete pledges for the acceleration of Agenda 2030, which the President will present at the SDG Summit. That vision was born through a very participatory process, ensuring that national commitments reflect the overall vision of society. That is why it is of particular importance that the Government of Montenegro adopted the national declaration and committed to its implementation," -said Lundberg, emphasizing full readiness of the UN Team to support the country in fulfilling those obligations in order to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This year, H.E. President Jakov Milatović will lead the Montenegrin delegation at the session of the United Nations General Assembly and at the Summit on Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous meetings with high officials of other countries, the academic community and the Montenegrin diaspora are planned on the sidelines of this Summit. In order to strengthen the engagement and visibility of Montenegro in the multilateral system, and through the planned activities at this year's session of the UN General Assembly, the delegation of the President of Montenegro will pay special attention to the promotion of our country's candidacy for membership in the United Nations Security Council in the period 2026-2027.