PODGORICA, Montenegro: Montenegro’s president on Wednesday officially nominated former, long-serving leader Milo Djukanovic to return to the premiership for another term.

“I’m convinced that (Djukanovic) will be fully devoted to the economic development of Montenegro … and the government will be devoted to continuation of the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration,” President Filip Vujanovic told journalists in the capital, Cetinje.Djukanovic will replace outgoing Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic, who resigned earlier this month due to illness. The appointment will likely be accepted by parliament, which is dominated by Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists.

Djukanovic said that the priority of his Cabinet will be Montenegro’s integration into the EU and NATO.

Djukanovic had ruled Montenegro both as president and prime minister for more than a decade before he stepped down after steering the nation to independence in 2006.

Local analysts link his comeback with the government’s intentions to speed up the privatization process and attract new foreign investors to the tiny Adriatic country with a booming economy.

Sturanovic, Montenegro’s first post-independence prime minister, was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer last year. He said the treatment required him to quit the premiership.