The Ministers expressed their pleasure with the NATO open door policy, as seen during the recent NATO members summit in Istanbul, and reiterated their dedication in meeting all of the criteria that are the precondition for the star of the membership negotiations. The ministers also expressed their support to NATO’s actions in Afghanistan and the Allies’ efforts in the stabilisation of Iraq. The three countries decided to extend their engagement in Afghanistan by sending in a joint medical team.
In the Joint Statement (see below), the ministers agreed upon a 6-month Action Plan of joint activities, to be co-ordinated by Croatia, with a series of working and high-level meetings between the presidents of parliaments, foreign and defence ministers. The Joint Statement was signed by Miomir Žužul, Ilinka Mitreva and Kastriot Islami.
Joint Statement of the Foreign Affairs Ministers
of the Republic of Albania, Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia
on the Occasion of the Informal Ministerial Meeting of the US-Adriatic Charter
Dubrovnik, 5-7 August 2004
1. We, the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Republic of Albania, Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia, together with the US Government representatives, have met in Dubrovnik to reaffirm our commitment to the principles of cooperation of the US-Adriatic Charter, and to invigorate our joint efforts leading to our countries' accession to NATO and the EU.
2. We will keep supporting each other in our shared strategic aim of achieving the full integration in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures, while developing our cooperation also in order to enhance stability and prosperity in the entire region, assisting and encouraging, especially, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro in their reform efforts.
3. We express our gratitude to the USA for its support to our common objectives, providing a crucially important transatlantic dimension to our cooperation.
4. We reiterate our full support to the North Atlantic Council's Istanbul Summit Communiqué, to NATO's policies and missions. We strongly support NATO's engagement in Afghanistan and the Alliance's efforts to contribute to the stabilisation of Iraq. In particular, supplementing our countries' individual contributions, we will expand our participation in the ISAF Operation in Afghanistan by sending our joint military medical team. As one of our priorities, we will be exploring any other contribution we may be able to provide, both individually as well as jointly, to the Alliance in its operations.
5. We express, once again, our satisfaction with the Istanbul Summit's concrete reaffirmation of NATO's Open Door policy vis-à-vis our three countries. We reaffirm our strong commitment to fulfil, before the next Summit, the criteria for the invitation to begin Accession Talks with NATO.
6. We will keep deepening and intensifying our close coordination and overall cooperation, exchange of experiences and expertise, related to the processes of accession of our countries to the EU and NATO, as well as to the efforts to stabilise and integrate the entire region in the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions.
7. We have agreed upon a six-months Action Plan of our joint activities, coordinated by the Republic of Croatia. It encompasses a series of high level meetings, notably, on top of regular working contacts, a meeting of the Presidents of Parliament, Foreign Affairs Ministers formal meeting at the beginning of November and a Defence Ministers meeting, exercises, as well as diplomatic and defence consultations, seminars and conferences, dealing with the issues of public relations, NATO enlargement process, NATO's «out of area» operations, combat against international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organised crime and trafficking in human beings.
| for the Republic of Albania | for the Republic of Croatia | for the Republic of Macedonia |
| Dr. Kastriot Islami | Dr. Miomir Žužul | Dr. Ilinka Mitreva |