Montenegro has seen a steady flow of direct foreign investment over recent years, from small investors to help with the building of major infrastructure projects. It's also become a key part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

After 30 years of essentially one-party rule, the country is now heading in a different direction. The country elected a new president in March, with parliamentary elections held last week.

Getting foreign investment into Montenegro is crucial to allowing the country with a population of around 600,000 to reach its goals. 

Milojko Spajic, from the Europe Now Movement, is the man tasked with forming the next government – and Spajic told CGTN that he has big plans.

"We want to become the Singapore of Europe, the most business-friendly country in Europe," he said. "Obviously, our geopolitical goal is to join the EU. So that's something that we will be working very hard on."

According to the Montenegrin Foreign Investors Council, Montenegro brought in $1.24 billion of foreign direct investment last year.

Foreign direct investment was up by 24 percent in 2022. The majority – 58 percent – came in the form of equity investments. That included $483.62 million in real estate purchases and $236.83 million directly put into banks and companies.

With 300 kilometers of beautiful coastline, as well as spectacular mountains, tourism represents the largest chunk of Montenegro's current GDP. It has also been the sector that has received large amounts of foreign investment as big hotel groups move in.

Finance Minister Aleksander Danjanovic points to the large infrastructure projects that Chinese investment has made possible.

"We have completed the first section of the highway to Serbia, and we expect to continue construction and connect with Serbia as soon as possible, in two to three years," Danjanovic told CGTN. 

"It means that the first section was completed by the Chinese company CIBC, which credits support with the Chinese EXIM Bank, and they are interested in continuing with the project."

Montenegro's aim to join the EU in the near future has also made it an attractive prospect for investment. However, despite having candidate status, talk of accession to the bloc has slipped from focus recently due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Getting that back on the agenda in Brussels will be a job for the new government here when it takes up post.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday