Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić attended 17-18 December 2018 in Podgorica a meeting of the foreign ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter (A5), an initiative for Euro-Atlantic cooperation in Southeast Europe.
Apart from the A5 member states – Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and the United States – the meeting was also attended by Kosovo, Slovenia and Serbia as observers. The A5 was chaired in 2018 by Montenegro. On the meeting’s agenda were the situation and security challenges in Southeast Europe, future of the A5, and cooperation priorities in the next period.
The meeting highlighted the importance of the A5 as a unique dialogue and cooperation framework for long-term political stabilization and strengthening of security in this part of Europe.
The ministers discussed cooperation among the member states, notably within Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and ways to advance cooperation in the future. They underlined the importance of continuing with the joint activities of training and capability development.
In her address, Pejčinović Burić emphasized the importance of NATO’s open door policy, adding that Croatia supports the Euro-Atlantic integration of Southeast European countries as a way to achieve long-term stability and security. She said EU enlargement would be one of Croatia’s priorities during its Council of the EU presidency in the first half of 2020.
Speaking of current global and regional security challenges such as terrorism, hybrid threats and irregular migration, Pejčinović Burić said the A5 represented an added value to NATO and EU’s efforts to respond to those challenges.
The ministers adopted a joint declaration on this year’s achievements and goals for the next period. The meeting marked the end of Montenegro’s A5 presidency, which is to be taken over by Albania in 2019.
During her stay in Podgorica, Pejčinović Burić met with representatives of Montenegrin Croats, who presented their activities in various areas. The meeting underscored the importance of their presence in the political and public life as well as maintaining the Croatian identity in Montenegro. Pejčinović Burić underlined that supporting Croats outside Croatia was an important priority of the Croatian government.