Press release: Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic meets with Ambassadors of NATO countries to Montenegro

Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has today had a working breakfast with ambassadors of NATO countries accredited to Montenegro.

Prime Minister Djukanovic acquainted the ambassadors with Montenegros progress in Euro-Atlantic integration both in terms of internal reforms and within NATOs Partnership for Peace Program. He underscored the Governments plans to intensify the process of Montenegros Euro-Atlantic integration in the forthcoming period, with an emphasis on expectations from the NATO Bucharest Summit. By the same token, Prime Minister Djukanovic stressed the importance of the fact that the NATO Summit would also focus on the Western Balkans and that Montenegro, being a PfP member, would take part in such a prominent event for the first time. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that NATO would recognize the positive outcomes of PfP membership and that the Summit would invite Montenegro to join the Intensified Dialogue with NATO.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Montenegro supported NATOs enlargement to the Balkans, through inviting Albania, Croatia and Macedonia to join the Alliance, arguing that this would help promote regional stability and security and confirm the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkans. By advancing the accession of Montenegro and the rest of the region, NATO would confirm its open-door policy and the fact that every country was being judged according to its individual progress, Djukanovic stressed.

The NATO countries ambassadors expressed their full support for Montenegros integration into NATO and, in the same context, voiced hope that Montenegro would become part of the Intensified Dialogue with NATO at the Bucharest Summit, particularly considering its impressive progress on reform within the Partnership for Peace. In addition, they expressed readiness on behalf of NATO countries to continue providing the political and expert support to Montenegro in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration.

Both sides agreed that Montenegros track record so far had confirmed the country as a trustworthy partner to the international community, meeting the requirements for a dynamic accession to NATO and EU.