As he said, Montenegro managed to get through much turmoil in the region and maintain peace and political stability.
“The growth model of the Montenegrin economy was based on foreign direct investments. A confirmation that we are an attractive investment destination can be found in the fact that even in times of crisis, the share of foreign direct investment in Montenegro was 13% of the GDP on average,” said Mr Lazovic.
According to him, that is why the Government’s economic policy is focused on the creation of a favourable investment environment and increasing competitiveness of economy. Explaining why they should invest in Montenegro, Mr Lazovic said that Italy and Montenegro were primarily two friendly neighbouring countries, the agency Mina business carried.
“We are tied by historically good relations – from the fact that many young people from Montenegro are studying in Italy today to the fact that Italian investors take a significant share in the structure of the Montenegrin economy,” he added.
Speaking about the political stability and success in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Mr Lazovic said it was a precondition for any good investor to make a decision about the investment.
“In addition, the fact that it is a Mediterranean country can be interesting to the Italian investors in the field of tourism and agriculture, since they can produce the same products and provide similar services at much lower costs here,” said Mr Lazovic.
According to him, the fact that Montenegro is an energy hub should be important to the Italian energy companies, bearing in mind that an Italian company is building the submarine power cable between Southeast Europe and Italy.
“The quality and availability of tourism potential and the use of the euro as currency represent the advantages of Montenegro. Connection of the country is important for every investor, and the highway that is under construction in Montenegro represents a part of the regional road network,” he said.
As he noted, Montenegro has one of the most favourable tax system with only 9% and 13% corporate tax and zero VAT for certain services and products, 7% for tourism tourist activity and 19% for other consumer goods, with the trend of reducing tax rates.
