The 6th Bilateral Defence Consultations between the United States and Montenegro

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The 6th Bilateral Defence Consultation between the United States and Montenegro were held at the Pentagon. The Delegation of the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro was headed by Minister of Defence Prof Milica Pejanović- Đurišić PhD, and the USA delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Evelyn Farkas.

The Ministry of Defence of Montenegro representatives presented the achieved results in implementation of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) with a special emphasis on reorganization and modernization of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, and human resource management, as well as the regional defence cooperation. Additionally, they were discussing the models of further US support in the process of defence system reforms.

 Minister Pejanović- Đurišić pointed out that the SDR implementation has entered its final phase concerning the reorganization of the Armed Forces, and the focus in future will be modernization and equipping in the fields of air surveillance, improvement of the safety at sea, as well as the capabilities and mobility of land forces.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Evelyn Farkas expressed the readiness of the USA to actively support the defence system reform and modernization providing different cooperation programs.

Minister Pejanović- Đurišić met with US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work. During the meeting, the Minister informed Deputy Work about the achieved results in the process of defence system reform and pointed out that, in the process of Montenegro integration in NATO, the American leadership and support has been crucial for obtaining an invitation for membership by the end of the year. Work found that Montenegro was reliable partner and that it has achieved significant results in the defence system reform process, and that in future period it can expect their full support on the path to the Euro-Atlantic integrations.

Ministar Pejanović- Đurišić and Ambassador Darmanović also attended the Ceremony of presenting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani an award of US Atlantic Council. On this occasion, Pejanović Đurišić talked with Chairman of the NATO Military Committee General Knud Bartels, as well as with Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, General Jean-Paul Palomeros. The interlocutors emphasized that the Armed Forces of Montenegro achieved high level of interoperability with the NATO partners, what was confirmed by the quality of the implemented reforms and Montenegro readiness to become a member of the Alliance.