Bijelo Polje has started the re-certification process under the BFC SEE program, which will confirm that the Municipality has a favorable business environment.

On September 20, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Dr. Nina Drakić, and the President of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Mr. Petar Smolović, signed the Agreement on the implementation of the local self-government verification procedure in order to obtain a certificate of compliance with the BFC SEE standard.

In this project, the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro is the Technical Secretariat in charge of all operational and administrative affairs of the network and the Certification Body, and the main partner of every local self-government that is preparing to join or has already joined the BFC SEE program.

- For the business community, the proactive approach of the municipal leadership to make the business environment as attractive as possible is very important. The contract we signed is a confirmation of the continuous commitment of President Smolović and his team to that task - said the President of the Chamber Drakić.

She expressed the expectation that the Municipality will successfully complete the re-certification process according to an improved and even more demanding standard.

The president of the PKCG told other municipalities that the essence of this process is not only obtaining a certificate, but that during the certification they should improve the internal organization and procedures, make the work more transparent, and raise cooperation with the city's businessmen, through an interactive relationship, to a higher level, for the benefit of the entire social community.

The President of the Municipality, Petar Smolović, M.Sc., reminded that Bijelo Polje is the first Montenegrin municipality to receive this valuable certificate in 2019.

- We didn't ask for, get and earn the certificate because of the certificate itself, but because of the recommendations and references it gives. This means that on the international level, we drew attention to the municipality of Bijelo Polje, improved all processes, became better, faster, more economical and more transparent - emphasized President Smolović.

He adds that the research of the World Bank for the previous year also speaks in support of this, in which it is stated that Bijelo Polje is the municipality with the least taxes and barriers for business development.

We thank the Chamber of Commerce for introducing us to the certification process and we are pleased to continue our cooperation, which will be especially beneficial for investors who want to continue investments or make new ones. We do everything for the citizens and the economic development of Bijelo Polje - concluded Smolović.

As a reminder, the Municipal Certification Program was designed by NALED in 2007 in cooperation with USAID, and since then it has grown into a regional initiative, a standard and a kind of seal of quality for local governments in Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.

The program provides municipalities and cities with clear guidelines on how to improve their performance, the level of quality and efficiency of services to the private sector, as well as the competitiveness of the local economy at the regional and international level.

Bijelo Polje is one of the five Montenegrin municipalities that have been certified under this program, having met the criteria for the establishment of efficient obtaining of building permits, proactivity in the promotion of investment potential, predictability of business costs, incentive policies for the development of entrepreneurship and others.