The International Day of Public Administration presents a valuable opportunity to discuss our vision—an efficient and depoliticized public administration that aligns with contemporary trends and effectively serves both citizens and the economy.

On this journey, I believe we have traversed the longest and most challenging phase. Today, we will reflect on our achievements together and the path that is still ahead of us.

Firstly, it is essential to emphasize what is undoubtedly our most significant success—the accomplishment that provides meaning and sustainability to all our efforts.

Our greatest achievement is the mutual trust established between us and our partners. These partners include everyone collaborating with us to reform and transform our society: international institutions and organizations, national and local government bodies, domestic and foreign experts, civil society, the academic and IT communities, the media, and, of course, the citizens—the ultimate beneficiaries of all our endeavors.

A partnership grounded in trust dissolves barriers and fosters the open exchange of ideas and experiences as we pursue our shared goals.

Allow me to highlight a few key events and initiatives we successfully completed over the past year, which have invigorated public administration with a renewed reform-oriented momentum.

We adopted a systematic approach—crafting essential laws under the Ministry’s jurisdiction in harmony with European standards, focusing on the depoliticization, optimization, and rationalization of public administration.

We finalized the Laws on Civil Servants, on Free Access to Information, and notably, for the first time, the Law on Government…

We opened avenues for digital transformation and established robust foundations for modernizing public administration. We launched a new e-Government portal, introduced new electronic services, executed EDMs, CA, GSB, and took other vital steps towards the complete digitalization of public administration. Additionally, we established the Open Data Portal.

We have laid the necessary legal, logistical, and strategic groundwork for the creation of the Cybersecurity Agency, tasked with protecting critical infrastructure, the economy, and citizens in the digital realm. This mandate is clearly articulated in the Law on Information Security, which we aligned with European standards—specifically, the NIS 2 Directive—making us the only regionally compliant country. We have set the stage to enhance our cybersecurity significantly, as only a digitally secure state can function sustainably. The upcoming steps in this domain depend on the Government, as the Ministry completed its part over six months ago.

We established a Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) and the Government Security Operations Center (GSOC). In collaboration with our partners, we also set up the Regional Cybersecurity Center (WB3C), providing our nation with a valuable opportunity to emerge as a hub for knowledge exchange and best practices globally.

Within just eight months, we fulfilled all obligations outlined in the Government’s Reform Agenda.

Decentralization, as a hallmark of democracy, remains one of our key objectives, and we have made significant strides in this regard.

We have drafted a new Law on Local Self-Government, introducing numerous critical democratic advancements aimed at ensuring local governments are sustainable and functional.

Our collaboration with municipalities has reached unprecedented heights through the “Municipalities for the EU” Memorandum, which clearly defines the responsibilities of key ministries and local authorities.

Together with our international partners, we are assisting municipalities in fast-tracking their digital transformation and development.

Alongside experts from relevant institutions and civil society, we meticulously prepared the Draft Concept of the Law on Local Elections and submitted it to the Parliament, making a tangible contribution to electoral legislation reform—one of the most vital political topics essential for Montenegro’s continued European and democratic progress.

Our achievements have garnered recognition beyond Montenegro’s borders. In Estonia—recognized as one of the world’s digital frontiers—Montenegro was honored as the “Cybersecurity Partner of the Year 2025.”

We are the sole institution in Montenegro to be recognized as an Effective CAF Model User.

We have signed numerous memoranda of cooperation with international partners and hosted distinguished foreign officials—including the President of the European Commission, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, and the Presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Moldova—who have all shown interest in our advancements in cybersecurity, as cyberspace is, in essence, unified and indivisible.

While success is gratifying, we must not become complacent. There’s still much work to be done. Yet, I remain optimistic.

This is not just a narrative about the Ministry of Public Administration; it is a story of a partnership-based system built on trust—a system that learns, adapts, and evolves. It illustrates how a country, when willing and capable, realizes its goals and achieves success—without politicization, unnecessary tensions, or the dominance of narrow political interests.

Our collective accomplishments vividly demonstrate that only with genuine trust can we meet European standards and successfully navigate the final phase of our long journey towards the EU—not merely as a political goal, but as a value-oriented and civilizational framework prioritizing the citizen, society, and the public interest.

As Minister, I extend my deepest gratitude to all our partners, collaborators, and the entire team at the Ministry.

We move forward—together!