The agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will enable investments exceeding 30 billion EUR in Montenegro, announced Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, emphasizing that there is no question of corruption or money laundering.
“The most important thing about this agreement is that, for the first time in history, the UAE state directly guarantees and stands behind a project. With such investors, there is no ‘trange-frange,’ no corruption, and no problems of that sort. Many are used to such occurrences in Montenegro, but this time it will not happen,” Spajić stated during the Prime Minister’s Hour in the Parliament.
Member of the “Europe Now” Movement, Uglješa Urošević, mentioned that recently there have been more reports about the arrival of new investor Mohamed Alabbar to Montenegro, as well as an increasing number of misinformation about him, the project, and its implementation.
He asked Spajić about the nature of the investment, what steps are being taken to attract more investments, and how he assesses the effects of the economic policies on the current situation in the country.
Spajić expressed pride in the agreement with the UAE. “The VAT revenue from this project will be enormous, and whichever local government is in power will have significant benefits,” he stated.
He clarified that there is nothing hidden in the deal and that the Government’s intergovernmental agreement has paved the way for the world’s most serious investors to come to Montenegro and develop their businesses there.
“A very similar agreement to the one we are signing will soon be signed by the United States (USA) and the European Union (EU). Every intergovernmental agreement that Montenegro signs contains a clause related to public procurement and tenders. The claim that it is specially intended for anyone is inaccurate,” Spajić emphasized.
He added that the Law on Money Laundering Prevention will be applied in this case, as it will in every case concerning the state.
