Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Thursday, the first day of his two-day visit to Montenegro, visited Kotor and Donja Lastva, where he met with the Archbishop of Bar and Apostolic Administrator of the Kotor Diocese, Msgr Roko Gjonlleshaj. After touring Saint Tryphon's Cathedral, Grlić Radman said that the Croats and priests of Boka were the guardians of a long Christian and Croatian tradition as well as European culture. “These churches and chapels speak of great wealth, a historic culture of mankind, a European cultural heritage we need to cherish and preserve, and recall a civilization in order to build a better future today,” the minister said.
Grlić Radman also met with the president of the Croatian National Council of Montenegro, Zvonimir Deković, and the president of the Croatian Civic Initiative and member of parliament, Adrijan Vuksanović. The minister underscored Croatia’s commitment and support for the Croat minority in Montenegro, thanking its representatives for fostering the cultural and historic identity of Croats. In addition, he applauded Montenegro’s efforts to include minority representatives in policy and program-making. “We strongly support Croats in Montenegro and their representatives in the Montenegrin parliament. Croats here are an example of how we can work together and be a factor of European values that Croatia has achieved with its EU membership,” said the minister.
In downtown Kotor, Grlić Radman toured the building of the future Croatian consulate, which is currently under reconstruction.