PM Đukanović hosts farewell visit by Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro Janina Hrebickova

Podgorica, Montenegro (3 November 2016) - Prime Minister Milo Đukanović hosted earlier today a farewell visit by Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Ambassador Janina Hrebickova.

The Prime Minister thanked Ambassador Hrebickova for the constructive partnership during her mandate and wished her success in her future work. He voiced satisfaction with the cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and continued support provided by the OSCE Secretariat, which dates back to before the referendum on independence.

"The balance of results and cooperation with the OSCE, the first international organisation to which Montenegro was admitted after restoring independence, is very advantageous. Thanks to this cooperation, Montenegro managed to overcome many hurdles on its democratic course and be better prepared for the reform process leading to membership in the EU and NATO. This created conditions for the Montenegrin institutions to continue to adopt standards and promote the highest values of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms on its European and Euro-Atlantic path, with the support of partners such as the OSCE,” PM Đukanović noted. In that context, he expressed special gratitude to the OSCE monitoring mission, which did a good job and noted the undeniable fact that Montenegro had improved the electoral legislation and implementation of new solutions, and that the citizens had had the opportunity to freely express their will and attitude towards the country’s strategic priorities.

Ambassador Hrebickova thanked the Prime Minister and the Government, as well as other state institutions, for extraordinary cooperation and welcomed the evident progress made over the ten-year period. She expressed confidence that Montenegro will continue to further democratise and strengthen its state institutions, which will accelerate its path towards the EU and NATO. She said that the OSCE Mission in Podgorica will continue to strongly support the Montenegrin institutions’ efforts towards continuous improvement and promotion of fundamental European values.

It was agreed that in the coming period, redefining the role of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro will be discussed, as well as developing new strategies for cooperation. This innovated approach is dictated by the overall advancement of Montenegro in order to allow intensification of strategic cooperation with the Mission and other executive structures of the OSCE.