5th Media Briefing on defence sector reform in Montenegro

The Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, organized the 5th Media Briefing on defence sector reform in Montenegro, which was held today in Hotel “Crna Gora”.

On this occasion, Deputy Minister for Defence Policy Drasko Jovanovic informed the media that Montenegro has successfully completed the first cycle of the Membership Action Plan (MAP). He also said that the Parliament of Montenegro adopted a decision of sending five members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro as instructors to the military police school in Kabul, Afghanistan, within the US-Adriatic Charter (A5).

Deputy Minister for Material Resources Colonel Rifet Kosovac spoke of surplus weapons and the necessity of its destruction in terms of security of the citizens of Montenegro. He informed the media that for the first time the material formation of the Armed Forces of Montenegro was made, on the basis of which the assessment of weapons and modernization and acquisition plans of new assets will be carried out. Speaking about the importance of NATO standards, he told the media representatives that the Ministry of Defence will soon acquire a software for codification, which will give an opportunity to Montenegrin companies to codify their products and sell them to the NATO members armed forces.

Deputy Minister for Human Resources Rajko Novicevic spoke about education and training of the Armed Forces of Montenegro and the employees of the Ministry of Defence. He informed the journalists that the new organization-formation model of the Armed Forces was adopted, which is, in comparison to the previous one, reduced by 11% and now includes 2.094 formational positions.

Representative of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro Predrag Prelevic emphasized the significance of the media in defence reform and stressed that Montenegro successfully fulfills the obligations of OSCE documents. Journalists showed special interest for the issue of destruction of surplus weapons.

The Ministry of Defence is trying to encourage a more active public participation in defence reform through regular media briefings and to contribute to the strengthening of civil-military relations and the overall quality of reforms.