Montenegro’s new government sees green energy as main economic driver

Prime Minister Dritan Abazović will lead Montenegro’s minority government. In his speech before the vote in parliament, he highlighted tourism and energy as priority sectors for economic development and vowed to keep promoting the idea of an ecological state. Ana Novaković Đurović became minister of ecology, spatial planning and urbanism while Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Regional Development and Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimović will be responsible for the energy sector.

The Parliament of Montenegro elected the new cabinet with 45 votes in favor out of 81 lawmakers in total. However, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and his coalition partners only have 16 seats while President Milo Đukanović’s Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro agreed to support the government without participating in power.

The new leader was a deputy prime minister under Zdravko Krivokapić, who was deposed less than five months after his opposition coalition ended several decades of DPS’s rule. Abazović is the head of the liberal green civic movement United Reform Action or URA, affiliated with the European Green Party. It has only three lawmakers.

In his speech before the vote, Abazović said the cabinet’s main priorities are the fight against corruption, more sustainable investment, joining the European Union, sustainable development and environmental protection and support to children and youth.

Strengthening renewables capacity alongside clean solutions for fossil fuels

“Besides tourism, which undoubtedly has the biggest potential, we will focus on developing projects in the energy sector, agriculture, transportation, manufacturing industry and information technologies. The government will act to help strengthen the human capital potential, innovations and the green economy,” he stressed.

Abazović added that the constitutional determination of Montenegro as an ecological state would continue to be promoted.

“We will place special focus on improving the implementation of projects in areas like increasing energy efficiency and strengthening renewable energy capacity (solar, hybrid, wind), with efforts to advance the clean production of energy from fossil fuels. We will pay special attention to thermal power plant Pljevlja which, in the light of the most recent developments, represents a pillar for Montenegro’s energy system,” Abazović stated.

The new Montenegrin leader vowed to invest in tourism sustainably in the country’s underdeveloped northern region and protect the environment at the same time. One of the priorities is to save the habitat of numerous species at the Ulcinj Salina salt flats, he underscored.

Ibrahimović takes energy sector, Novaković Đurović in charge of ecology

Head of the conservative Bosniac Party Ervin Ibrahimović became the deputy prime minister in charge of regional development and minister of capital investments, taking over the energy portfolio from Mladen Bojanić. Ibrahimović has a master’s degree from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy of the University of Belgrade in Serbia.

Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ana Novaković Đurović replaced Ratko Mitrović. She is from Abazović’s URA list. Novaković Đurović was until recently in charge of the Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO) and she is a long-time civic activist.

The new ecology minister graduated from the Faculty of Political Science in the capital Podgorica and is studying for a master’s degree in public international law. Novaković Đurović is experienced in EU-funded project management.