AmCham Montenegro hosted today a Business Luncheon with H.E. Margaret A. Uyehara as the Honorary Guest Speaker at the Hotel Ramada, Podgorica. The event was attended by AmCham members, representatives of state and local authorities, as well as the representatives of international organizations.

The focus of this gathering was placed on the state of business environment and the economic impact of NATO and EU integrations from the U.S. Embassy’s perspective. As assessed during the Luncheon, the path of business environment reform must continue, along with building a good business practice and creating a fair and transparent market for all. This is the key to attracting more sustainable foreign investments.

The Honorary Guest, H.E. Margaret Uyehara, made a short retrospective of the key accomplishments and challenges in her first year in Montenegro. During her speech, the Ambassador emphasized the important role AmCham plays in the business world in Montenegro.

“AmCham plays a key role in helping Montenegro maximize its investment potential in this challenging global economy. Montenegro deserves praise for its success in adopting progressive, business-friendly laws and regulations, but there’s still work to be done on implementation and enforcement.  Institutions must have the capacity, and the necessary support, to put in place reforms in a fair, transparent, and equitable manner without political interference. AmCham can help ensure that what is written on paper is translated into practice”, said Ambassador Uyehara.

Ambassador also indicated the positive effects which NATO membership would have on Montenegro as an investment destination. As she stated, NATO membership will serve as a catalyst for further investment in Montenegro by improving the enforcement of the rule of law, and creating more transparent and rules-based systems.

The President of AmCham Montenegro, Ms. Katarina Bulatović, reminded that AmCham has played a very active role in improving the business environment in the last eight years. It has positioned itself as a successful liaison in communication between the private sector and the Government of Montenegro. AmCham is focused on improving the regulatory framework, in order to align the conditions for doing business in Montenegro with global standards.

“Significant activities towards creating a better regulatory framework are well underway due to the EU Acquis harmonization process in nearly all areas relevant for doing business. However, the laws and regulation are not enough. It is necessary to ensure full and non-selective implementation of the laws, in order to provide investors with guarantees for their capital”, said Ms. Bulatovic. She stated her appreciation to the colleagues from the US Embassy, and H.E. Margaret Uyehara, who are AmCham’s fist and primary partner in all endeavors undertaken in improving the business climate in Montenegro.

AmCham Montenegro was founded in 2008 and gathers a total of 74 U.S., international and local companies operating in Montenegro. The AmCham mission is to contribute to improvement of the business environment in order to attract more U.S. and other foreign investments.