Mr. Chairman, Dear Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to address you on behalf of the Government of Montenegro at this First Annual Conference of the International Aid Transparency Initiative and to thank our hosts for an excellent organization and warm hospitality. It is especially symbolic for us that this Conference is held in the Hague, since the Netherlands is a significant donor for many development projects of vital importance for reforms and overall democratic development of Montenegro. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Dutch Government for this assistance.

With the aim to contribute to efforts undertaken to achieve effectiveness and transparency of the international aid and determined to further strengthen its partnership with donor community, Montenegro has been the first country from the Region to join this Initiative. We fully support the core principles of the IATI according to which the transparency of international aid significantly contributes to enhancement of domestic accountability, taking over the ownership of development processes and to the enhancement of mechanisms of aid coordination. We are confident that this Initiative represents an important step forward in implementation of Accra Agenda for Action and Paris Declaration.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The IATI Regional consultations with partner countries, held in July in Montenegro, identified some challenges that partner countries are faced with on their path towards building sustainable capacities for the efficient aid coordination. It was concluded that aid transparency is an important pre-requisite for better decision-making in relation to national budget planning, monitoring and evaluation of the process of aid disbursement. Alongside strong political will of partner countries to cooperate with donors in managing these assets, it is equally important for donors to cooperate among themselves. In this respect, we believe that the IATI provides an appropriate framework for donor countries to make available aid information, in accordance with agreed common terminology, definitions and standards.

In line with our strategic commitments to achieve accelerated progress in European and Euro Atlantic integration process, Montenegro is undertaking comprehensive reforms in capacity and institutions building, with significant assistance from international donors. In this respect, the Government of Montenegro is working closely with UNDP, Delegation of the European Commission, OSCE and bilateral donors in developing an adequate institutional framework for the efficient management and coordination of aid flows. To this end, the First donor coordination meeting was held in December last year, followed by a number of sectorial meetings. This approach is a confirmation of the joint commitment of the Government of Montenegro and donor community to agree a model for establishing the best mechanism for coordination and a single development aid data base. Assigning donor coordination to the portfolio of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is yet another evidence of the commitment of Montenegro to the implementation of the principles of transparency and mutual accountability. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that we have prepared a concept note for the project of improving ICT (information communication technology) capacities for the coordination of donor activities which will be presented during the working part of the Conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Global economic crisis and limited national resources impose even greater responsibility to us all, both partner countries and donors, for transparency of aid information, which is conducive to development plans and to sustainable dialogue among developed and developing nations based on trust and equal access to information.

I am confident that the First Annual Conference of the IATI will contribute to reaching an agreement on our joint activities aimed at consistent implementation of the IATI standards and principles. I would like to assure you that Montenegro will be a responsible and constructive partner in this endeavor.

Thank you for your attention.