Press release: Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic meets with Russian Ambassador to Montenegro Jakov Fedorovic Gerasimov

Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic today met with Russian Ambassador to Montenegro Jakov Fedorovic Gerasimov, who presented him with a letter from the Russian Federation Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov. In his letter, the Russian Prime Minister emphasizes that Montenegro is Russias close and reliable partner in the Balkans.

We are committed to progressive development of bilateral ties, continued implementation of agreements reached through senior and top level interstate dialogue and enhancement of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation between our countries, says the Russian Prime Minister in his letter.

Having recalled the history of friendship between Montenegro and Russia, Ambassador Gerasimov expressed satisfaction with the fact that overall bilateral relations between the two countries were being continually developed.

He welcomed the recent adoption of the new Constitution in the Parliament and pointed out that by doing so Montenegro had demonstrates political and democratic maturity.

Having emphasized that Russia occupied a prominent place on Montenegros list of foreign policy priorities, Prime Minister Sturanovic expressed his expectation that the Russian Federation would continue to be one of Montenegros strategic partners and play a constructive role in regional developments, aimed at securing long-term stability and prosperity of the region.

Special emphasis was placed on promoting economic cooperation within the Intergovernmental Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Russian Federation and Montenegro.

Both parties expressed satisfaction with the forthcoming signing and implementation of a series of bilateral agreements, including the Free-Trade Agreement, Agreement on Visa-Free Regime, Agreement on Cultural Cooperation and Agreement between Diplomatic Academies of the two Foreign Ministries, which would provide an additional incentive for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in the spirit of traditional friendship.

During the talks, reference was also made to other issues of concrete cooperation in agriculture, education and fight against natural disasters.