May 21 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's presidential elections winner Milo Djukanovic was sworn in on Sunday for a second term, returning to a post he held between 1998 and 2002.
The inauguration ceremony was held during an extraordinary meeting of the Montenegrin parliament in Cetinje, according to a press release issued by the presidential administration on Sunday.
"From the position of President, I will show initiative in the relations with other branches of power, but also with investors and businesses as a whole, to realise the importance of a quick common response, including the generation of donor funds that could, first of all, provide valuable support to young people best inclined to adopt and transfer the necessary knowledge for the development of our country," Djukanovic said in his public address, posted on the website of the presidential administration.
Montenegro has become the most economically and democratically developed country in the Western Balkans, a leader in reforms and negotiations with the European Union (EU), the next member of the bloc, Djukanovic said.
"It is time to talk about the Western Balkans' Europeanisation, about the integration of the countries of this region into the European system of values. That is why we do not need any promise of admission either in 2025 or any other year. Even without such projections, we will continue with reforms, striving for a better life for our citizens."
Montenegro needs to stop crime and corruption and ensure the safety of citizens and will work on the quality and harmonious functioning of all government branches, Djukanovic added.
Djukanovic won 53.9% of the vote in Montenegro's presidential election, according to final official results. He was backed by 180,272 voters out of 340,462 who went to the polls on April 15.
Djukanovic is leader of political party DPS, which has been in power since the introduction of a multi-party system in 1990. He served as prime minister of Montenegro from 1991 to 1998, as president of the country from 1998 to 2002, and as prime minister again from 2003 to 2006, from 2008 to 2010, and from 2012 to 2016.