DPM Marković hosts NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller

Podgorica, Montenegro (2 November 2016) -- Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković met earlier today with NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, who is paying her first two-day visit to Montenegro.

DPM Marković informed Ms Gottemoeller about Montenegro’s activities towards implementing reforms, voicing satisfaction with the process of ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to NATO, hopeful that it will be completed soon. Montenegro is already actively considering the imminent moment when it becomes a full member, preparing to assume the rights, but also obligations and responsibilities of participation in the collective security system.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller welcomed Montenegro’s reform agenda and commended the country’s commitment expressed in the process of formalisation of membership, which, in her words, is about to happen. She stressed the importance of the fact that Montenegro has been able to participate in meetings and other activities of the Alliance as an invitee for more than five months, which is a good preparation mechanism for formal membership.

The two officials exchanged views on the current political and security situation in the region and beyond. In that regard, they expect that the recent formalisation of Montenegro's membership in NATO will have positive effects for the country and the Western Balkans and Europe, as the security architecture of the region will be rounded off, and the Alliance is sending a message that the NATO Open Door Policy is active and that each aspiring country that meets reform targets and reaches the required standards can hope to take place in the Euro-Atlantic community.

DPM Markovic and NATO Deputy Secretary General Gottemoeller also agreed that the current international field exercise being held in Montenegro, sponsored by Euro-Atlantic Centre for Disaster Response (EADRCC) and the Directorate for Emergency Situations of Montenegro’s Interior Ministry, is of great significance, both in terms of the training of Montenegro’s civilian and military institutions, NATO members and partner countries to respond to emergency situations, as well as a powerful tool to inform the public in Montenegro about all major civilian and humanitarian aspects of the Alliance’s operations.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER