Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants, Mr Andrija Nikolić, and the member of the Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget, Mr Nikola Rakočević, participated at the "2018 World Investment Forum", dedicated to the topic on "Investing in Sustainable Development" that is being held in Geneva in the period 22 - 26 October 2018.
Within the World Investment Forum, the delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro took part in the first parliamentary workshop dedicated to parliamentary committees on foreign affairs and committees on economy, finance and budget, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union as one of a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening parliamentary activities in the implementation of the "2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development".
At the workshop for parliamentarians with the topic on "Financing the SDGs: How can parliaments bridge the gap?", it was pointed to the need of active allocation of funds in order to reach the goals of sustainable development, through combined, domestic and international financing. It was stressed that national parliaments play a crucial role in this process, since they were responsible for creating an adequate environment at the legislative level for achieving global goals, by identifying reform priorities and drafting new laws on issues related to public and private partnerships or investment incentives. Also, it was emphasised that the concrete contribution of parliamentarians would be achieved by participating in formulation, approval, audit and oversight of budget management.
After the introductory presentations, the participants held a discussion within three sessions. During the first session, which was related to the mobilisation of public funds in achieving the goals of sustainable development, the participants pointed out that the largest source of funding of he goals were domestic public funds, and a discussion was held accordingly on the measures that parliaments could undertake to strengthen fiscal policy consistent with the goals of sustainable development. The second session was related to looking at new opportunities, and in this context, it was stressed that private sector investment, including the banking sector and international development partners, have been increasingly percieved as key actors for achieving sustainable development goals. During the third session, which was focused on budget planning based on information and sustainable development goals, it was pointed out that every national strategy must be rooted in the specific needs and realities of a country, and the debate was thus focused on how parliamentarians could use the budget as a means to meet the goals of sustainable development and what would the most effective way of introducing sustainable development goals within national budgets.
At the end of the workshop, it was estimated that financing of global goals meant seeking new ways to mobilise private sector investment, and that the overall project of achieving global sustainable development goals could only be achieved if governments, parliaments, civil society and the private sector cooperated with each other. It was stated that private investments compatible with the goals of sustainable development could not be implemented without strong government leadership and parliamentary oversight.
Also, MPs of the Parliament of Montenegro participated in the session entitled "Legislation for Sustainable Development", which gathered MPs, governments and business leaders with the aim of identifying ways to direct investments in sustainable sectors. During the Forum, numerous sessions on various topics were organised, and MPs attended the panel on "Investment and the Digital Economy".
The delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro attended the Summit of Global Leaders within the Forum with the topic on "Investment in a new era of globalisation", at which the panelists pointed to joint efforts in order for the society to address the economic challenges on the path to achieving the goals of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, putting a special emphasis on global foreign direct investment flows that fell by 23% in 2017, according to the 2018 World Investment Report. At the Summit, the President of Montenegro, Mr Milo Đukanović, addressed the participants, among other global leaders.
