Abu Dhabi aids Montenegro’s agricultural sector with Dh183.6 million loan

Montenegro will expand its agricultural exports and create jobs thanks to an agreement for a Dh183.6 million loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

Mohammed Al Suwaidi, the fund’s director general, yesterday signed the loan agreement with Petar Ivanovic, Montenegro’s minister of agriculture and rural development.

Mr Ivanovic said the loan would boost agricultural production in his country, which used to be a republic of Yugoslavia.

“The loan agreement that we signed today is very important to strengthen the [agricultural potential] that we already have,” he said.

Mr Ivanovic said Yugoslavian goat meat used to be exported to the Middle East until Yugoslavia’s loss of customers in the region led to the loss of agricultural producers in Montenegro.

“So now we are in the process where we are trying to increase the agricultural production, to focus more on products where we can be competitive and to export those products, “ he said.

The minister said the loan from Abu Dhabi would help to create new jobs in the sector and expand exports. “We are targeting 2,000 new jobs … [the loan] will unify the cultural producers through the clusters operations, and we have to cooperate with others to increase the value chain, to develop the food processing industry in Montenegro,” he said.

Mr Al Suwaidi said financing agricultural projects in Montenegro would significantly boost the development of agricultural sector across the country.

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