Trade cooperation between Montenegro and China could be much greater, said Nina Drakić, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, recalling that trade between the two countries was the largest last year when it amounted to 343 million euros.
“Certainly, this imbalance is very large in favor of importing goods from China compared to the potential of exporting Montenegrin products to the Chinese market. Bearing in mind the size of the economies of the two countries, it is difficult to achieve a balance, but we can do more when it comes to the export of Montenegrin products to the Chinese market,” said Drakić.
Statistics show that we mostly export aluminum, lead and wine to China.
“The demand for agricultural and food products on the Chinese market is high, so there is a possibility that we in our food processing industry, especially in the meat industry, can do something so that part of those products can be placed on the Chinese market,” said Drakić. The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro believes that trade and commodity exchange are only one of the segments of cooperation with China. “Infrastructure is definitely a prerequisite for the development of any economy, including the Montenegrin one. In order to strengthen the competitiveness of our economy, we must significantly improve our infrastructure. “Certainly, the flywheel was the construction of the first section of the highway, but we have to continue that way,” said Drakić. Statistics show that every year there are more and more tourists from China visiting Montenegro. “What is predicted is that by 2030, out of five global tourists, two will be from China. We have to find a way to use that potential. We should open the door and simply try not to go back to the past. The decision-makers need to create an environment so that they can attract Chinese tourists,” says Drakić. She reminded that in 2019, about 74 thousand tourists from China visited Montenegro, when they achieved about 90 thousand overnight stays. “They stayed for a short time and I assume that they are part of a regional tour, but I believe that in cooperation with travel agencies we can make arrangements because Chinese tourists are not only interested in the sun and the sea,” said Drakić.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro says that China’s experiences in the field of green economy and digital transformation are significant for that country. “The possibility of cooperation in energy is great. We are facing an energy transition, that is, in the coming years we must definitely go towards diversifying our production in the field of energy towards renewable energy sources. There is definitely a huge space for cooperation,” said Drakić. We are witnessing, says Drakić, that China has significant ecological solutions for many issues, and we, as an ecological country, should work on applying those solutions in the future. “When we talk about the entry of Montenegro into the European Union, environmental protection is one of the most demanding chapters and these are projects where there is room for cooperation. I think that we have done the most in the area of education so far, and I am of the opinion that knowledge is our greatest resource that we need to further develop in order to progress as an economy”, Drakić concluded.