Minister Darmanović attends ministerial meeting under SALW initiative in Paris:

Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović participated today in Paris in a high-level meeting within the French-German initiative to combat illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and its ammunition in the Western Balkans (SALW).

The hosts of the meeting, which discussed the results achieved in this area as well as the dynamics of implementing the "Road Map" adopted at the Western Balkans Summit in London, were Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France Jean-Yves Le Drian and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Heiko Maas.

Minister Darmanović said that Montenegro, in accordance with its foreign policy priorities and goals, is fully committed to the preservation of international peace and security, the fight against organized crime and terrorism, and the prevention of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. He stressed that an effective national framework has been developed, in line with EU standards and relevant strategic documents, in order to ensure full compliance with international obligations, in particular the restrictive measures adopted by the United Nations Security Council and the EU.

"All our activities so far confirm the readiness of Montenegro to actively contribute to regional and international efforts in this domain," Darmanović said, reminding that the first meeting in this working framework was organised in Montenegro, with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro.

Minister Darmanović assessed that uncontrolled accessibility and illicit trafficking in these weapons pose a serious threat to global peace and security, as well as processes of reconciliation in conflict areas and the joint efforts of the international community in achieving lasting peace and sustainable development. "Therefore, investing in a more effective small arms and light weapons management policy is at the same time an investment in conflict prevention and the suppression of terrorism, organized crime, and the protection of human rights and freedoms," the Minister stressed.

He also recalled numerous projects that Montenegro implemented in cooperation with international organisations and partner countries, in order to eliminate existing surplus weapons and ammunition in its territory, and said that the competent institutions of Montenegro are ready, in cooperation with regional and international partners, to give their contribution to the decisive and common response to all the challenges in this field.