The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, has had talks at the Auberge de Castille with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
He arrived on an official visit this morning and was granted a ceremonial welcome by an AFM guard of honour that lined up on Castille Square.
A memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the health service was signed.
Mr Dukanovic said he looked forward to working closely with Malta, not only on healthcare but also in other sectors including education and science.
Enemalta's first overseas investment is being made in Montenegro with the development of a renewal energy wind farm. Mr Dulanovic said he looked forward to this going ahead as scheduled.
Dr Muscat said work on this project would start in the coming days.
Mr Djukanovic is due to be taken on a tour of the power station in Delimara.
Dr Muscat visited Montenegro in January.
CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE
Mr Djukanovic is a controversial figure in his country and abroad, having been mired in claims of organised crime and corruption. See https://www.occrp.org/personoftheyear/2015/
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project last year 'awarded' Mr Djukanovic as the Organised Crime Man of The Year.
The OCCRP, a non-profit organisation which worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on the Panama Papers. It has alleged that, among other things, Mr Djukanovic enjoyed ties with the Italian Mafia and was involved in cigarette smuggling.
Asked how comfortable he was working with his Montenegrin counterpart in light of these claims, Dr Muscat said that if the EU was ready to consider Montenegrin membership, then he would not rule out collaborating with Montenegro.
“I feel confident working with an administration which is in negotiations to enter the European Union. So if Brussels and other administrations are comfortable then I can’t see why we shouldn’t. The way we have carried out this project is symptomatic of our openness,” Dr Muscat said
“I feel confident working with an administration which is in negotiations to enter the European Union. So if Brussels and other administrations are comfortable then I can’t see why we shouldn’t be. The way we have carried out this project is symptomatic of our openness,” Dr Muscat said
Asked for his reaction to the claims of corruption, Mr Djukanovic told the Times of Malta this was a “creative fabrication”.
He blamed the allegations on “political adversaries”, and dismissed them as preposterous tales meant for his political appendants “fun time”.
He said democratic elections had been carried out in Montenegro for 25 years, and he had been returned to power at each election. The people of Montenegro who had put their trust in him were not stupid, he said.
Likewise, European leaders who were considering Montenegro’s accession bid, were not “blind”, he said.