NATO Military Partnerships Coordination Workshop

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NATO Military Partnerships Coordination Workshop has been opened today in Budva to last until 27 March 2015. It is the most important event which is organized by the Military Partnership Directorate – MPD from SHAPE in Mons and which is held annually. Montenegro, in line with its Euro-Atlantic determination and status of a NATO reliable partner, in the year of intensified and focused dialogue, has assumed the role of host for this important workshop.

Opening the workshop, Lieutenant General Michael Jakovljev, deputy of the Chief of Staff of the Allied Command Operations and Major General Ali Cetinkaya, the representative of the Military Partnership Directorate, welcomed the progress which Montenegro realized on the way to NATO and praised the results achieved in the process of defense reform. At the same time, they expressed their appreciation for the successful organization of the workshop which brought together around 150 representatives of partnership countries (Partnership for Peace and Mediterranean Dialogue), NATO HQ in Brussels and NATO Commands (SHAPE, ACT, Joint Command in Naples and Brunsum, LANDCOM Izmir, AIRCOM Ramstein and MARCOM Norfolk).

On behalf of the Ministry of Defense, Director General for Defense Policy Ivan Masulovic, PhD addressed to the audience who repeated readiness of Montenegro to continue with duly fulfilling its liabilities so that, by the end of this year, NATO countries would adopt a positive decision on sending the invitation to Montenegro for full fledged partnership based on the apparent results. Taking into account new security challenges on a global scale and limited financial resources, he highlighted the necessity and importance of cooperation among countries to achieve common goals.

The motto of this year's workshop is “Partnership Development - Building the Future” to reflect not only the process of NATO transition but, at the same time, provides an opportunity to consider future activities in order to align planning, training and capacity building that will be necessary for the upcoming period.

The primary goal of the Workshop is to offer opportunity and possibility to partnership countries to directly contribute to the process of planning the common activities and to express national training needs during the bilateral consultation. The Workshop shall have the Fair of Partnership Training Centers and NATO Centers of Excellence so that the participants will be able to explore offers and eventually identify cooperation potential.

Beside lectures, there shall be a syndicate work organized to deal with subjects of individual and collective training, OCC concept and exercises as well as NATO transformation. During the Workshop, it is expected to exchange opinions, intensive discussions and presentations with the aim of harmonization and review of trainings and exercises offered by NATO and Partner countries.

The Workshop shall be an opportunity for Montenegro to promote its tourist offer and present its cultural and historical heritage. In this context, there shall be organized an evening devoted to national context with cultural program.

Director General for Defense Policy Ivan Masulovic, PhD

Lieutenant General Michael Jakovljev, deputy of the Chief of Staff of the Allied Command Operations

Major General Ali Cetinkaya, the representative of the Military Partnership Directorate

NATO Military Partnerships Coordination Workshop