Billateral consultations with the representatives of the General Staff of the Republic of Italy

The second round of billateral consultations with the representatives of the General Staff of the Republic of Italy were held on 25th of february  at the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro. Deputy Minister for Defence Policy Ivan Masulovic, PhD, made the welcome note and had the meeting  with the fourmember-Italian delegation, led by the head of the Department of bilateral cooperation of General Staff of the Republic of Italy, Colonel Ciro Forte.

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Masulovic and Colonel Forte expressed their contentment with the successful cooperation in the field of defense while also expressing confidence that relations between the two Ministries and Armies will further improve. Colonel Forte conveyed the messages of support to Montenegro on its path to NATO membership and reminded that the Republic of Italy is a reliable partner in the integration process.

Deputy Minister Masulovic expressed his gratitude for the support of the Italian side and informed them about the current situation in the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro and the reform process that are being implemented. He added that the support in the field of military education that the Republic of Italy provides to Montenegrin Army and Ministry is of great importance and expressed his hope that it will be continued in the future.

After meeting with the Deputy Minister, second round of bilateral consultations were held aiming at defining and harmonizing the activities of bilateral cooperation Plan for 2013. The meeting was attended by representatives of all sectors of Ministry of Defence and General Staff of Armed Forces of Montnegro. Consultations defined various fields for future cooperation, as well as the opportunities for improving the existing ones. Previous intensive cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro and the Ministry of Defence of Italy was reflected in the cooperation between the two Navies, as well as the education and training of personnel of Army of Montenegro in the Republic of Italy. After the bilateral consultations, Head of Department for International Cooperation major Sasa Jovanovic and the Head of Department for International Cooperation of General Staff of Italy colonel Forte signed the Plan for bilateral cooperation for the year of 2013. The plan contains 15 activities of which seven are planned to be implemented in Italy and eight in Montenegro with the annex on education approving two high-rate training in the Republic of Italy.

After meetings at the Ministry of Defence, the Italian delegation visited the Navy of Montenegro. The delegation met with the Commander of the Montenegrin Navy captain Darko Vukovic. Captain Vukovic informed the delegation about the current situation and activities of the Montenegrin Navy.  From 2010, the Republic of Italy and Montenegro are deploying an excellent cooperation which reflects through mutual trainings, education of the military personnel and joint participation in the mission ATALANTA.