U.S.-Adriatic Charter (A5) important platform for further strengthening regional cooperation

The Ministerial Meeting of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter (A5), held today in Tirana, concluded the one-year chairmanship of the Republic of Albania of this regional initiative. Montenegro was represented at the meeting by Milena Kalezić, acting Director-General for NATO and Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During two working sessions, participants discussed current security and political challenges, with an emphasis on future modalities of regional cooperation development among A5 member and observer countries in the domain of countering hybrid threats in the region, as well as the achievements and perspective of this initiative.

Within the first session, possible joint responses to current security threats were considered, with the aim of strengthening regional resilience, especially after the war in Ukraine. Additionally, participants discussed the need for more efficient coordination and communication between A5 countries to improve understanding of evolving security threats in the region.

During the second session, special focus was placed on hybrid threats and cyber security, considering the challenges the region faces in this regard. In this line, it was emphasized that A5 can serve as a platform for further strengthening regional cooperation to successfully respond to modern challenges coming from all strategic directions.

Acting Director-General for NATO and Security Policy Kalezić pointed out the importance of the Charter for further integration of the region, and reminded that "regional mechanisms have gained even more importance in recent years, as they integrate our joint efforts to address security challenges, solve common issues and promote our European and Euro-Atlantic perspective."

Kalezić also stressed that political and practical support for the promotion of European and Euro-Atlantic values in the region is of utmost importance, especially in the context of the prospect of membership in the European Union. She pointed out that hybrid threats are a challenge that requires the adoption of new strategies to protect national security, and that A5 is an important mechanism and platform for coordinating joint responses to strengthen the Region's resilience to the malign influences of third parties.

She reminded that Montenegro is committed to fulfilling the goals of the Euro-Atlantic agenda, and that it is intensively working on closing negotiation chapters, emphasizing that EU and NATO membership are complementary processes that contribute to lasting stability in the region. Kalezić congratulated Albania on its successful chairmanship of the initiative, and wished success to the next chair, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A Joint Statement was adopted at the meeting, specifying future goals in the functioning of this initiative and confirming the commitment of members and observers to further work within the A5 initiative. The meeting was attended by representatives of A5 member states - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and the United States, as well as observer states - Kosovo, Slovenia and Serbia.