NetworksMACCIM

On 21^st  July, during an official meeting in Podgorica with the Chamber of Economy  of Montenegro, the Maritime Technology Cluster FVG and Aries delivered the roadmap for the creation of a maritime cluster in Montenegro. This completed the MaCCIM (Maritime Cluster Cooperation Italy Montenegro) project, funded by the Central European Initiative (CEI), in collaboration with the Maritime Technology Cluster of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Aries, the Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Venezia Giulia and the Montenegro Chamber of Economy.

The scope of MaCCIM, which began in December 2015, was to support the Montenegro maritime industry that in recent years has expanded quite significantly, above all in the field of nautical tourism. Given the need to coordinate the different realities that operate in the country, Montenegro decided that it was necessary to create a cluster, that would help to further develop the growth and collaboration between the stakeholders in the territory.

Thanks to Maritime Technology Cluster FVG’s experience, Friuli Venezia Giulia provided the support required to develop a cluster: “We placed the know how that we  gained over the years at the disposal of  Montenegro territory”,” explained Lucio Sabbadini, mareFVG’s CEO, “because we firmly believe that the establishment of the Montenegro Maritime Cluster will be  a new step towards creating the Adriatic-Ionian macro region, an alliance that will allow new levels of fundamental growth for all the territories involved.”

One of the most important moments of  MaCCIM was the visit by a Montenegrin delegation to Friuli Venezia Giulia in March, where meetings were organized with local stakeholders that  presented their activities to their colleagues from the Balkan region. An Italian delegation also visited Podgorica in May to attend a mentoring and coaching event, during which Italian experts provided know how to Montenegrin attendants  about the different technological and innovation maritime related issues. Pilot actions were held in June in Bar, Montenegro, where the groundwork was laid to start collaborating on themes that are very important for the local maritime industry, thanks to the contribution of experts from important Italian companies.

The work carried out in recent months led the partnership to the creation of the roadmap, based on the specific needs of the Montenegro stakeholders involved. “This document is a concrete result, a practical tool that we placed in the hands of the local stakeholders at the meeting held on 21^st  July, that , under the guidance of the Chamber of Economy, expressed their interest in our activities, in the hope that the process of creating a territorial cluster will start immediately” said Martina Rossi,  mareFVG cluster manager and project manager of the MaCCIM project.“We are very pleased to have been invited to participate in the activities of the MaCCIM project, above all the final event” said Milena Jovetić, spokeswoman of the Department of Local Development of the Ministry of Economy, “and we will of course be following further developments, supporting  this process  with all the instruments we have”.