The blue economy is an extremely important area with significant development potential, encompassing a wide range of activities, from the sustainable management of marine resources, aquaculture, and fisheries to the protection of marine ecosystems and the application of advanced digital solutions.

This was precisely the main theme of the event titled “MORE PRILIKA – EU Projects for a Sustainable Blue Economy of Montenegro,” organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, which brought together representatives of institutions, universities, companies, and research centres to exchange experiences and create opportunities for new partnerships.

As an institution currently implementing eight European projects, the Science and Technology Park of Montenegro took the opportunity to present one of them, which is directly focused on the development of the blue economy. Our PR and Marketing Specialist, Milica Jovančević, presented the key objectives and results achieved so far by the ABBA project.

This is an international Interreg IPA Adrion project whose primary goal is to establish an Adriatic-Ionian Alliance for a sustainable blue economy and strengthen regional innovation. Through its active participation in the consortium, STP Montenegro seeks to effectively connect research capacities with concrete market needs. During the presentation, particular attention was given to the highly successful Transnational Demo Day and B2B Event, where 26 selected teams from across the region had the opportunity to present their deep-tech solutions for marine protection and sustainable resource management at the STP Montenegro premises.

“MORE PRILIKA” was an excellent opportunity to view the innovation ecosystem from a broader perspective. Tanja Radusinović, Director of the Projects Sector at the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, emphasised that the aim of this inclusive concept is to strengthen the strategy surrounding all “blue projects” financed through European funds. According to her, the number of ongoing projects confirms that Montenegro already has the knowledge and partners needed to build the blue economy of the future. A similar message was conveyed by Borka Lješković, a representative of the Ministry of European Affairs, who stressed that territorial cooperation programmes offer numerous opportunities for Montenegrin institutions, while also creating an obligation to establish an appropriate regulatory framework.

The event also provided an opportunity to hear presentations from experts from the academic community. Prof. Ivana Ognjanović, PhD, spoke about artificial intelligence as a driver of the blue economy and the AdriaSmart project, while Prof. Danilo Nikolić, PhD, presented the green transition of passenger maritime transport through the Greenroutees project.

The high level of activity in Montenegro’s blue economy sector is also confirmed by the impressive list of current EU projects presented at the event. In addition to ABBA, participants had the opportunity to learn about the following projects: INNOVABLUE, ROBONETCBC, ECO SEAROUTES, ReDeem, Biowaste2Energy, DecarBOAST, ZERO C, JOINABLE, MARROBO, FISHIMPACT, TEAMFORADRIS, EmBRACE, EUREKA, BLUE Q, ADRISmart, Pro-Coast, AZA4ICE, RECONNECT, GROWTH4BLUE, and SPONGE CITY.

Through the exchange of experiences and the establishment of new partnerships, the foundations have been laid for cooperation that will contribute to the long-term sustainable development of the Adriatic region and the competitiveness of Montenegro’s economy.