Podgorica, December 1, 2021 – Montenegro contributes to increasing security and safety storage of weapons and unexploded ordnance, and in the coming period it will remain committed to this issue. This was said during the handover of the two storage buildings and watchtowers in Rogami warehouse that were reconstructed thanks to the financial assistance from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through a regional project implemented by UNDP.

Acting Director General for Protection and Rescue in the Ministry of the Interior, Miodrag Bešović, pointed out that the Rogami warehouse is a very important resource of the Ministry of the Interior. “Material and technical means important for the protection and rescue system, but also for the Police Administration, are stored here, and therefore we are approaching the maintenance of its professional functionality with special care,“ Bešović pointed out. He thanked the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the UNDP and expressed satisfaction that this project was successfully implemented.

Bešović said that the Department for Unexploded Ordnance officers collect about 15 tons of UXO a year, and sometimes even more, so that these and similar investments significantly increase the capacity for UXO storage with the state of the art security measures.

“I hereby thank the Government of Montenegro and the UNDP for the implementation of this part of the project. Germany continues to support the implementation of the Regional Roadmap for solving the problem of proliferation and possession of illegal small arms and ammunition,“ said the first secretary of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Thomas Meindl.

UNDP program manager, Gordan Ivanović, pointed out that this project, which is being implemented by the UNDP with the financial support of Germany, is further improving the security of the warehouse for small arms and light weapons in Rogami. As he said, the watchtower and the two storage buildings in the Rogami warehouse have been renovated in accordance with the best international practices and standards.

“The project represents a direct contribution to the security of both Montenegro and the region, because it allows adequately secured storage of significant quantities of small arms and light weapons. In cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, UNDP in Montenegro and UNDP SEESAC have been providing support to the state in strengthening and implementing the arms control policy for more than a decade,“ Ivanović said.

The Rogami warehouse upgrade project is part of a regional project established in March 2019 through Germany's 5.5 million euros of dedicated contribution to the UNDP Program, which aims to contribute to a coordinated approach in implementing the Roadmap for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and Ammunition in the Western Balkans.

The Rogami warehouse upgrade project supports Montenegro, primarily the Ministry of the Interior, in improving the security and safety of the central warehouse in line with international standards and best practices. Improving the security of weapons and ammunition in the warehouse through the upgrade of the Rogami storage site is in line with the Strategy and Action Plan for Combating Illicit Possession, Misuse and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons and Ammunition in Montenegro adopted in December 2019.

The project directly contributes to local and regional security by ensuring that significant quantities of stored weapons and ammunition for which the MoI is responsible are safe and duly recorded. As such, the project contributes to meeting the objectives set by the Regional Roadmap for the Western Balkans, including reducing the risk of uncontrolled proliferation at the local and regional level and the risk of uncontrolled explosions.

The media release was taken from the website of the Ministry of the Interior.