The conference "Belt and Road - cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe", organized at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica on March 22, gathered a large number of participants and students at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro. This was an opportunity to summarize the results of the multi-year cooperation between Montenegro and the People's Republic of China.

The conference was opened by the vice-dean for international cooperation, assistant professor Dr. Tamara Backović, while the opening speeches were given by H.E. Mr. Fan Kun, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Montenegro and Filip Vujanović, former President of Montenegro.

The working part of the Conference consisted of two panels.

The moderator of the first panel, which is entitled Economic Cooperation of Montenegro and China - Common Prosperity, will be journalist Bojan Vučinić, while the participants will be:

• Ervin Ibrahimović, Minister of Capital Investments in the Government of Montenegro,
• Dr. Nina Drakić, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro,
• Žarko Radulović, president of the Montenegrin Tourist Association and
• Vatroslav Belan, former national coordinator of 16+1 for Montenegro.

The moderator of the second panel, entitled The importance of China in the recovery of the global economy, will be the vice dean for scientific research at the Faculty of Economics, assistant professor Dr. Jovan Đurašković. The participants of the second panel will be:

• Darko Pajović, former ambassador of Montenegro to the People's Republic of China,
• Dr. Predrag Bjelic, full professor of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade and
• Dr. Danijela Jaćimović, Coordinator of the CEP project

During the second panel, which was moderated by the vice-dean for scientific research at the Faculty of Economics, assistant professor Dr. Jovan Đurašković, the importance of China in the recovery of the global economy was discussed. On that occasion, former ambassador to China, Darko Pajović, professors of the Faculty of Economics from Belgrade and Podgorica, prof. Dr. Predrag Bjelic and Prof. Dr. Danijela Jaćimović, coordinator of the Jean Monet project.

Professor Jaćimović said that China is a global investor today. "The European Union (EU) has a dominant political and economic influence in the Western Balkans (WB) region, but in the opinion of many citizens of the region, EU integration is associated with strict and painful convergence criteria and burdensome reforms, as well as the inertia of unfulfilled accession conditions. And the region's potential to attract FDI and achieve long-term growth depends on EU membership. On the other hand, China's involvement in the region is focused mainly on much-needed infrastructure investment, which has attracted significant international attention (US and EU) over the past decade. Well-developed infrastructure can accelerate economic growth, and governments in the region are looking for ways to modernize their poor infrastructure. So both researchers and decision makers are intrigued by the possibilities and challenges of EU-Montenegro-China cooperation. Nevertheless, taking into account the specificity of the current  global environment, where the development of events in Ukraine and further polarization between NATO and the supporters of the Russian presence, may affect the intensity and scope of future cooperation between China and the countries of the WB.", said professor Jaćimović.

 The Belt and Road conference - cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, modernization in the Chinese style and a new opportunity for the world was organized in partnership with the Faculty of Economics, whose students were present in large numbers, China Media Group and Media Bureau.