The French government has supported the continuation of the implementation of the “Smart City” project for five capital cities in the region, including Podgorica. On this occasion the City Manager Mr. Marjan Junčaj, Head of the International Cooperation Office Ms. Ljiljana Šćepanović, and the director of the Information System Service Mr. Džemal Lekić, held an online meeting today with the experts of the French Consulting Agency Espelia.

The French Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the embassies have previously supported the “Smart City” project through the Development Agency AFD (Agence Francaise de Developpement), which provided assistance for the Agency Espelia to be a consultant in this stage of the project, being the winner at the international competition.

The technical assistance refers to 5 cities in the region – Skopje, Tirana, Sarajevo, Prishtina, Podgorica, and is worth approximately 600,000 EUR which will be evenly distributed among all previously listed cities.

The participants of this online meeting spoke about different experiences and the most important strategies of smart cities in the future. The primary goals of the technical assistance referring to the local digital plan of action, the mapping of the existing frameworks that will have an impact on the development, setting priorities, and investment plans were presented, which would further improve the quality of city services and the quality of life in Podgorica in the near future.

In this regard, Urban priorities, Digital priorities, and the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID – 19 virus have been recognized as priorities and challenges that create an obligation for us to devote attention to digital solutions that have a healthier basis, and provide faster results.

We would like to remind you, after last year’s consultations with the French expert agencies and the Embassy of French Republic, when the project Digital Cities in Western Balkans was presented, today’s meeting is an important step forward for the Capital City, which will continue to advance smart solutions in all areas of its operation.