The First Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Stefan Sandstad Almehagen visited today Bijelo Polje, Gusinje and Plav, and got acquainted with projects that have improved socio-economic development in northern Montenegro through the project "Norway for You - Montenegro”.
The First Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Stefan Sandstad Almehagen visited today Bijelo Polje, Gusinje and Plav, and got acquainted with projects that have improved socio-economic development in northern Montenegro through the project "Norway for You - Montenegro”.
With the support of the Kingdom of Norway through seven different projects worth about 100,000 Euros, 27 unemployed people in Bijelo Polje got a job through vocational training and business development support for five small businesses, while the Protective Workshop for Persons with Disabilities got sewing machines to provide employment for three people with disabilities.
"We are grateful for the support of the Kingdom of Norway, especially for small businesses in Bijelo Polje. This creates the potential for employment so that the population does not go to Podgorica or the countries of the European Union in search of work," the Mayor of Bijelo Polje Petar Smolović said.
Through the project "Norway for you - Montenegro", the residents of the settlement Begluci in Gusinje now have a new LED street lighting, which provides energy savings of up to 70 percent. In addition, the municipality of Gusinje carried out activities together with the Regional Development Agency Bjelasica, Komovi and Prokletije to improve the processing of milk, fruits and vegetables, when farmers from Gusinje, Andrijevica, Plav and Berane received the necessary production equipment. Norway financed these projects in Gusinje with about 110,000 Euros.
"The support of the Kingdom of Norway is highly important for lesser developed municipalities such as Gusinje, because financing projects for infrastructure development and support to farmers is of great importance for development," the Mayor of Gusinje Anela Čekić said.
The project "Norway for you - Montenegro" for the last two and a half years has focused on increasing employment opportunities, supporting social cohesion and improving local infrastructure in lesser developed municipalities of Montenegro.
"I am very glad to have the opportunity to see the results of our joint efforts in improving living conditions for the citizens of lesser developed municipalities in Montenegro. I am pleased that the project "Norway for you - Montenegro" has contributed to the socio-economic development of municipalities in the north of Montenegro," the First Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Stefan Sandstad Almehagen said.
Today, the First Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy handed over the keys to the beneficiaries of five stores of traditional agricultural products in Plav, which were set up through the inter-municipal project Plav and Petnjica, for which the Kingdom of Norway set aside around 49,000 Euros.