July 04, 2018 - The governments of Montenegro and Albania held a joint session on June 3rd in Shkoder, Albania. The first session Montenegro has organized with another country confirms the friendly relations between Montenegro and Albania and the strong ties of the Montenegrin people and the opportunity to open a dialogue between the two countries on numerous issues of mutual interest.
The introductory speech at the Forum included the two Prime Ministers, Duško Marković from Montenegro and Edi Rama from Albania. The two officials concluded that the two countries are connected through good neighborly relations and that there are no open issues, as well as the fact that these points are a guarantor of good relations between the national minorities on both sides of the border.
"The joint session noted a high level of political bilateral relations, especially in the context of the membership of the two countries in the NATO alliance, as well as in the process of integration of the two countries into the European Union, where Montenegro, as the state that has opened 31 negotiating chapters, is already ready to provide concrete support to the institutions of Albania by sharing experiences and best practices in the process that is ahead of Albania. We also discussed the possibilities of using European Union pre-accession funds for the implementation of cross-border projects, especially those related to the creation of better infrastructural, institutional, social and business relations between the two countries, which is at the core of the joint participation in the Berlin Process. At next week’s summit in London, Prime Minister Rama and me, together with our counterparts from other Western Balkan countries and the European Union, will again be able to advocate for their implementation, aware of the importance of these projects for the overall economy of our countries," said Prime Minister Marković.
By this occasion, the Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanović and Minister of Culture of the Republic of Albania Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi signed a Cultural Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania for 2018-2020.
The signed programme recognizes film and cinematography as a significant area in relations between the two countries, emphasizes the importance of the development of theater, fine arts, and music, as well as the protection and preservation of cultural goods.
Representatives of the Ministry of Interior also took part in this conference, so that the Minister of Interior of Montenegro, Mevludin Nuhodžić and his Albanian counterparts Fatmir Xhafaj and Olta Xhaçka signed the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania on opening the joint border crossing Ckla-Zogaj for international road passengers and lake transport, and the Agreement between the two institutions on cooperation and mutual assistance in emergency situations.
Ministry of Defence representatives and Minister Predrag Bošković were also present at the forum which resulted in signing the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Council of Ministers of Albania on cooperation in cross-border operations within the Air Policing Mission. This agreement will allow the air force of Greece and Italy, who will be conducting the mission of protecting the airspace of Montenegro, to cross the state borders of Montenegro and Albania during the mission, while the very mission of the protection of the airspace of Montenegro began on June 5, 2018.
Regarding the water resource management, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro, Milutin Simović and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Senida Mesi signed the Agreement on mutual relations between the two countries in the field of cross-border water resource management.
“By signing this framework agreement, the Water Management Commission will continue with further work and enhanced activities for the sustainable management of the Skadar Lake, Drim, Bojana and Morača, which are the targeted areas of the agreement. These are activities for preserving water quality, flood protection, water regulation and maintenance, more intensive exchange of information and finding funds for financing these activities,” concluded Simović.
