Prime Minister Of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic spoke on the 3rd Mediterranean Forum of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE

MILO DJUKANOVIĆ, PRIME MINISTER OF MONTENEGRO
THE MEDITERRANEAN DIMENSION OF THE OSCE

Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants and Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me a particular pleasure to greet you here at Sveti Stefan, at the 3rd Mediterranean Forum of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, which is taking place against the backdrop of cherishing and promotion of dialogue among people, cultures and civilizations as an intrinsic part of the common democratic values that we have inherited and that we share. The choice of Montenegro as the host of this year's autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the Mediterranean Forum for us has a symbolic, as well as essential meaning. We see this is a tribute, too, to the successful multi-ethnic project of the Montenegrin society, its democratic development and thereby Montenegro's contribution to strengthening regional stability.

As a European country with a strong Mediterranean identity Montenegro is acutely sensitive to valuing and capitalizing on ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, which it sees as its asset, a powerful driving force conducive to democratic development, greater stability and good neighbourliness. It is also instrumental in bringing about balance between the individual and the community, the way of life and the system of values. Since only when our activities are focused on security of each individual, when we have ensured that every one has the freedom to choose their identity, without fear of discrimination, and actively participate in political, economic, social and cultural life, can we all together say to have achieved our goal.

And today, as the symbol of the highest civilization values that Montenegro has always cherished, I am proud to say that we are a country that reaffirms superiority of the ''unity in diversity'' model, which is the axiom of modern European and global integration processes.

I hope that I am not presumptuous to say that on such a basis I believe the aspirations of Montenegro to position herself even more strongly as a centre of continuous dialogue between cultures, civilizations and people are realistic.

I am convinced that this meeting will mark a step forward in developing cooperation and mutual trust, strengthening dialogue by promoting values of democracy, rule of law, human and minority rights and freedoms. It is in this field that the action of OSCE, in synergy with other international organizations and partners, continues to be of particular importance.

The more so as the globalisation trend is increasingly underlining that a problem of any one part of the whole quickly becomes a common problem. The most recent wave of European enlargement has highlighted the importance of the Mediterranean dimension of the European security. Namely, the process of unification of Europe has also brought about the change of its geopolitical boundaries, given that several Mediterranean countries are now closest neighbours of the EU and of the OSCE region. It is in response to these essential and historic changes on the European map that a new EU neighbourhood policy has been adopted as an evolutive process, aimed at expanding the ''ring of friends''. This policy has become even more important with the accession of Cyprus and Malta to the EU and the opening of accession negotiation with Turkey.

This is a two-way street, since we cannot speak of a politically stable and prosperous Europe, without a stable and developed (Mediterranean) neighbourhood. The more so as the issue of security is today increasingly linked to and faced with new political, environmental and socio-economic challenges and threats. Fundamental global challenges, such as terrorism, organized crime, illegal migration, poverty, environmental threats and so forth call for a common action and response. In view of all this it is necessary more than ever before to promote regional and inter-regional cooperation and links through strengthening dialogue on the basis of democracy, rule of law and human and minority rights. The best expression of such an approach is cooperation between the parliaments of the OSCE region and third countries. This cooperation has proven to be a flexible mechanism and an adequate framework for cooperation between the two Mediterranean coastlines. Because it is in response to globalisation processes - which cannot always adequately deal with local situations, needs and challenges - that a parliamentary dimension has been introduced into leading international organizations.

As a multi-vocational country Montenegro is interested in development of Mediterranean partnership in all aspects of common interest. These, undoubtedly, include political dialogue, stability and security, culture, economic and trade cooperation, investments, the environment. All the issues of Mediterranean dialogue that the OSCE has again reaffirmed by establishing this Forum and by adopting the Rotterdam and Edinburgh resolution on the Mediterranean Dimension of the OSCE.

Montenegro is continuing to be a persistent advocate and promoter of regional cooperation in Southeast Europe, which at a parliamentary level is developing through activities and initiatives of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and of the OSCE, as well as within the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, Southeast Europe Cooperation Process, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and other regional fora. Montenegro has also given a distinguishable contribution in this regard through the activities of the Cetinje Parliamentary Forum.

Montenegro is determined to continue to build itself as a fully functional democratic state, a state of political and economic freedoms for all its citizens, a state that lives in peace and harmony with its neighbours. In this process and fully in the spirit of European and Euro-Atlantic integration we wish to promote our national identity, firmly resolved to ensure that early next year the citizens of Montenegro are able to exercise the fundamental democratic right to self-determination. We assume that the outcome of the referendum will be democratic and we believe that it will contribute to the strengthening of a broader, regional stability. In view of our commitment to ensuring in all segments the best European standards and practice, I take this opportunity to once again stress our interest that the OSCE/ODIHR be directly involved in the process of preparation for and monitoring of the referendum. In this context I wish to emphasize the importance of the role that the OEBS/ODIHR has played in ensuring fair and transparent election processes, especially in some periods crucial for the stability and democratic development of Montenegro, as well as a wider region.

In the spirit of commitment to peace, stability and development Montenegro will continue to be a reliable partner in the common efforts to build a more secure and better future for all our states, peoples and citizens.

Thank you for your attention.

Sveti Stefan, October 9, 2005