PM Marković opens A5 defence ministers meeting: Montenegro already feels benefits of NATO membership, shares its experience with others

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Prime Minister Duško Marković opened a meeting of defence ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter (A5) in Bečići, saying that Montenegro has already begun to feel the benefits of NATO membership primarily through the growth of investments and the interest of credible investors, and that Montenegro used its third presidency of this Initiative, first as a NATO member, to transfer its experiences of NATO accession to Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as our key priority during the presidency was to strengthen regional trust and mutual support of the countries of our region.

It's more than an obvious historical step forward that Montenegro made by joining NATO. As a small country, it has demonstrated the power of the idea of alliance among countries that share the same values, regardless of their size. On the other hand, our citizens already have the opportunity to see the benefits of our membership in the Alliance. We record an increase in investments and interests of credible investors from all over the world, almost daily, especially from NATO and EU countries, which certainly influenced and influences the successful trend of strong economic growth recorded in the past and this year. The sign of security changes the awareness of others about Montenegro, as well as of Montenegro about the world beyond our region – the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Marković said that our country, by joining NATO, had fulfilled one of the most important foreign policy and state goals, and that the US-Adriatic Charter had an undisputed role, adding that the the support of the United States as a friend and ally of Montenegro was valuable during the accession process.

We especially appreciate that last year, exactly on the occasion of the Adriatic Charter Summit, US Vice President Mike Pence paid visit to Montenegro, as a new member of NATO, which was a powerful indicator of supporting the stability of Europe and this region, PM Marković highlighted.

Speaking about our presidency of A5, Prime Minister Marković reminded that Montenegro is continuously advocating for an open door policy for all aspirants both within NATO and within the framework of the Charter.

Conscious of the importance of strengthening regional trust and mutual support of neighbouring countries, this was a key priority of Montenegro during this year. That is why we were especially pleased with the invitation to Macedonia to start negotiations on NATO membership at the Summit in Brussels, as well as encouraging messages sent to our friends in BiH. We are confident that Macedonia will soon become the fourth member of the Charter, which is also an ally in NATO, the Prime Minister stressed.



PM Marković said that Montenegro supports actively countries of the region not only in joining NATO, but also in the process of approaching the European Union, since its values are crucial for the stable and prosperous future of this part of Europe. In this context, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the citizens of Kosovo, like citizens of other countries of the region, will soon feel the benefits of visa liberalization, reminding that Montenegro helped in the fulfillment of one of the key conditions for visa liberalization by solving the border demarcation issue with Kosovo.

Montenegro, Prime Minister Marković noted, already shares its experience of the NATO accession process.

One of the priorities of our presidency of the A5 is to share our experience gained during accession process. We already share our experience with our friends from Macedonia and BiH, and we are ready to share it with all neighbours dedicated to the same goal. We have a long-term goal in mind: as we were as the youngest member, thanks to the support of our partners, ready to contribute to all key policies of the Alliance, we want our neighbours tomorrow to be ready to contribute to our common goals and interests and to make the region, not a consumer, but a stable contributor to regional and global security. This is not only important because of regional, but also European, as well as global stability. The nature of modern challenges, including terrorism, illegal migration, hybrid and cyber threats, requires to deal more with wider issues than those we are used to in our own backyard. They affect all of us in the context of globalization and the changed geopolitical situation, as well as the interests of third parties in our region, which uses a variety of methods to achieve its goals, using our weaknesses and mistakes. Therefore, in addition to strengthening the regional cooperation of our countries, the continuous attention and support of our international partners is necessary. We are pleased that it is the case in the last period, and that we receive messages from the most important address that Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkans has no alternative – because it really does not and cannot have alternative, Prime Minister Duško Marković emphasised.

Address by Prime Minister Duško Marković at the opening of the A5 defence ministers meeting in Montenegrin

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO

PHOTO: Meeting of defence ministers and observer countries of the US-Adriatic Charter (A5)

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/9oko99a9ViA