Montenegro successfully completes one-year presidency of AII and EUSAIR

The Adriatic and Ionian Council/EUSAIR Ministerial Meeting, which ended Montenegro's very successful one-year presidency of these regional mechanisms, was held today in Budva.

The meeting, chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović, adopted the Budva Declaration, which confirmed the willingness of the member states to further intensify cooperation within the framework of regional initiatives, thereby fostering the European perspective of the region. The meeting was attended by Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dačić, Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Crnadak, the Republic of Croatia Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative Giovanni Castellaneta and Director for Smart and Sustainable Growth at the General Directorate for Regional Policy of the European Commission Rudolf Niessler.

"We have once again confirmed the strong commitment to regional cooperation and multilateralism with Montenegro's very successful one-year presidency. The Adriatic and Ionian Initiative, for almost two decades of existence, and later EUSAIR, serves as a regional framework for cooperation between countries with the same priority goal - strengthening the European perspective of the region," Minister Darmanović said, stressing that the priorities of the presidency were focused on intensifying cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, environmental protection, research and innovation. He also pointed out that significant progress was made with regard to strengthening regional relations with the aim of jointly addressing issues of interest for all countries.

Minister Dačić thanked Montenegro and Minister Darmanović for the successful presidency. "This is very important for us, bearing in mind that these are the basic prerequisites for the full involvement of the Western Balkans in the EU. Serbia will also continue its presidency in that spirit," Dačić stressed as the Republic of Serbia took over the presidency.

Secretary General Castellaneta, congratulating Montenegro on its successful presidency, said that the Budva Declaration sends a strong message on the importance of EU enlargement policy, especially bearing in mind the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament. In this context, he stressed that member states share the common values of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative.

Director Niessler welcomed Montenegro's achievements during the presidency, stressing that the European Commission finds macro-regional strategies important, especially the one which has additional political value, encouraging development in the region and approaching the aspirant countries to the European Union.

Within the Montenegrin presidency, the exhibition of painters from all the member countries of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative was held in Budva. The exhibition was opened by Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanović and Minister Darmanović.