Defence Minister Bošković at NAC meeting: Montenegro actively contributes to improvement of international stability

Minister of Defence Predrag Bošković said that Montenegro, as a reliable and credible ally, continues to provide concrete contribution to the joint efforts of the Alliance in the continuous improvement of the collective defence system, in accordance with its capabilities.

Minister Bošković takes part in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers in Brussels.

He welcomed the efforts of the Alliance to enhance readiness and training to provide an adequate and timely response to all potential security challenges that can come from all strategic directions. In this context, the Minister reminded that at the end of last year, the first rotation of the Armed Forces of Montenegro was sent to the Multinational Battle Group in Latvia, which was recently replaced by the other, as a contribution to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP).

Speaking about the importance of unity of allies and responsible fulfillment of the Alliance's policies, Bošković stressed that Montenegro will decisively approach the fulfillment of decisions from the Wales Summit in order to reach the necessary defence spending goal by 2024.

The participants of the meeting considered individual progress in strengthening the readiness of the forces, in accordance with the needs of the Alliance's effective action in a changed security environment. Bearing in mind the importance of continuous improvement and adapting to modern security challenges, it is emphasised that this process must remain in the focus of the Alliance.

Analyzing developments on the global political scene, ministers stressed that NATO will remain committed to the policy of designing stability beyond the borders of the Alliance, and will continue engaging in missions and operations to contribute to the improvement of international stability.

Minister Bošković had in Brussels two bilateral meetings with his Canadian counterpart Harjit Sajjan, as well as Croatian counterpart Damir Krstičević.

Ministers Bošković and Sajjan discussed the modalities of developing and improving defence relations between Montenegro and Canada. They particularly emphasised the union and alliance of the two countries in the field of joint participation in NATO's enforced forward presence (eFP), in which Canada is the leading nation.

At the meeting with his Croatian counterpart, both sides expressed satisfaction with the high-quality defence relations between the two countries, with particular emphasis on joint participation in missions, especially in Resolute Support in Afghanistan. In addition to exchanging views on the security situation in the region, defence ministers of the two neighbouring countries and allies within the Alliance also discussed the concrete possibilities of jointly defining and fulfilling logistical goals and needs towards the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in order to modernize the armed forces.