Ｍｏｎｔｅｎｅｇｒｉｎ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ Ｐｒａｉｓｅ Ｃｈｉｎａ’ｓ Ａｃｈｉｅｖｅｍｅｎｔ

Ｚｈａｎｇ　Ｈｅｑｉａｎｇ

Invited by the CPAFFC, the delegation of the Society of Friendship between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Montenegro led by its president Nikola Vujacic visited Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai from April 30 to May 7. In Beijing, the delegation called on the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Beijing and China Travel Service; in Shanghai, it visited the Shanghai Harbour Administration, the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission, COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd.， Changning District Central Hospital and Yangshan Deep-water Port. It was the first visit to China for most members of the delegation. The urban development and modernization drive in China have left deep impressions on them.

Publicizing the characteristics and advantages of Montenegro to win Chinas investment in its construction of harbour, free trade zone and tourism facilities. All the members of the delegation came from Bar, a port city and the second largest city in Montenegro. Included in the delegation were the president of the Board of the Port, the executive manager and the director of the general office of the Port. Promoting cooperation between the Port of Bar and China naturally was one of the main purposes of their visit.

Dr. Predrag Ivanovic, president of the Port Board, said at meetings with relevant departments of China, the Port of Bar was the main deep-water trading port of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its handling capacity in 2007 exceeded 5 million tons. It has a free-trade zone. As a major port in southeastern Europe, the Port hoped to cooperate with the Shanghai Harbour in human resources, port management, environmental protection, purchase of second-hand equipment from Chinese ports, etc. When calling on the COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd., the delegation expressed the hope to open direct regular freighter route between China and Bar.

When calling on China Travel Service, Nikola Vujacic, leader of the delegation, said, small as it is, Montenegro has unique and beautiful scenery. It has ski resorts in snow-capped mountains as well as beaches where people can swim and surf. The Lake of Scadar on the border between Montenegro and Albania is the largest lake in Eastern Europe and produces large amount of fresh water aquatic products. The distance from beaches to mountainous areas and lakes is little more than 100 kilometres, but the climate, scenery and culture change greatly. The varied landscapes and cultures attract tourists all over the world. There are more than 400 hotels in Montenegro to accommodate overseas tourists. He believed that the beautiful natural scenery of Montenegro would draw Chinese tourists and bring the country large sums of tourist revenue.

Praising Chinas achievements in construction and expressing desire for cooperation.The Society of Friendship between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Montenegro was founded a year ago. It took this visit to China as an important activity in celebration of its first anniversary. For publicizing the visit, they had a reporter and a cameraman from the state television station accompanying them, who would make TV programmes of the visit and broadcast them when they return home to let the Montenegrin people know more about China.

When visiting the venues for the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, the Montenegrin friends showered praises on the National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube) and the National Stadium (Birds Nest). President Vujacic said, the Birds Nest is the largest steel-spanning structure in the world and the Water Cube applies the principle of bubble on buildings successfully for the first time in the world. They have not only embodied the wisdom of the Chinese people, but also demonstrated their innovative spirit. The members of the delegation said after the visit, when a nation prospers, its sports flourish. The rapid economic development has given the country strength to build world-class sport venues.

Samir Hadzic, secretary general of the Society, is the director of the Institute for European Integration and International Cooperation. He has written a book on free trade zone. Before the end of the visit, he said to the Chinese friends with deep feelings, Montenegro is very proud to have such friend as China. The position of Montenegro is unique. On the one hand, it is a Slav country and has traditional friendship with Russia and other Slav countries in East Europe, and on the other hand, it maintains good relations with the European Union. The Port of Bar is one of the nearest European ports to Asia, enjoying convenient land transportation to other parts of Europe. He added, Montenegro hopes to develop into another Hong Kong, exploiting its unique geographic advantage to the full to serve a bridging role in politics, economy and culture between the East and the West. At present, there is great potential for investing in ports, railways, highways and hotels in Montenegro. China is welcome to make investments for common development.