On November 8, 2018, the third Session of the China-Montenegro Committee on Intergovernmental Cooperation in Science and Technology was held in Podgorica. The meeting was co-chaired by Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of China, and Ms. Smiljana Prelević, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Science of Montenegro. 

Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo briefed the Montenegrin side on science and technology developments in China, Chinese government’s strategic plans for building China into a country of innovators, reform of science and technology management institutions and progress in China‘s international cooperation. He stressed that the Chinese government will firmly implement the innovation-driven development strategy, strengthen full-chain management of basic research, applied basic research and research results commercialization, and further integrate into the global innovation network. Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo pointed out that with the implementation of the Belt & Road Initiative and the 16+1 cooperation mechanism, there will be broader prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

The Montenegrin side introduced Montenegro’s STI policies, research management system, and science and technology cooperation with the European Union, focusing on smart specialization strategy, centers of excellence, and science park planning and construction.

The two sides exchanged in-depth views on topics such as deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of STI, and reached broad agreement. The two sides agreed to carry out in-depth cooperation in expanding people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, science park construction and so on.

The two sides also reviewed implementation of the projects adopted at the 2nd Session of the Committee, and discussed and approved a new list of bilateral science and technology mobility projects in the fields of agriculture, geology, ICT, chemistry, etc. After the meeting, the two sides signed the Protocol of the Third Session of the Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation Committee of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Montenegro. According to the agreement reached between the two sides, the 4th Session of the Committee will be held in China in 2020. 

During the visit, the Chinese delegation also met with Ms. Sanja Damjanović, Minister of Science of Montenegro, and visited the Institute of Marine Biology of the University of Montenegro and other research institutions in Montenegro.