State Secretary Hido Biščević held political consultations with Vladimir Radulović, State Secretary at Montenegrin MFA

The two ministries’ first official consultations since Montenegro’s gaining of independence and the recent official visit to Montenegro by Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader confirmed the two countries’ firm dedication to the development of versatile neighbourly relations, in the interest of overcoming the inheritance of the recent past, realising the two countries’ Euro-Atlantic goals, and a strong contribution to a permanent stability in South East Europe.

The consultations especially noted the realisation of the agreements from the last prime ministers’ meeting, including the preparations for a permanent solution to border issues and opening of the negotiations about a new agreement on the rights and protection of national minorities, as well as the co-operation in infrastructure, transport, tourism and culture.

The consultations also reviewed the current state of affairs in South East Europe, with a special emphasis on the process of solving Kosovo’s status. Both sides expressed support for the effort of UN Special Envoy M. Ahtisaari, pointing out that both countries expect a balanced and measured approach ion the continuation of the process, in the interest of finding a solution that will contribute to the permanent stability of this part of Europe and confirm the cohesion among the leading factors of the international community.

State Secretary Biščević informed the Montenegrin collocutors about Croatia’s foreign policy priorities, namely the EU membership negotiations and NATO accession, as well as the activities during Croatia’s SEECP presidency.

State Secretary Radulović pointed out that joining the EU and NATO are the most important priorities of the Montenegrin state policy and that he considers exchanging experiences with Croatia, as a country at an advanced stage in approaching the Euro-Atlantic integration, extremely important and valuable.