14 November 2018 - In the framework of this year's Montenegrin presidency of the A5 Initiative, a meeting of Defence Ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter (A5) member countries was held in Budva on Wednesday, November 14. The meeting was opened by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Duško Marković, Minister of Defence, Predrag Bošković and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the USA, Laura Cooper.
Prime Minister Marković pointed out that the successful fifteen-year operations of the US-Adriatic Charter strongly confirms the quality of the defence cooperation of the Western Balkan countries. He highlighted the significant contribution of the A5 Initiative in achieving the strategic goal of Montenegro to become the 29th member of the North Atlantic Alliance, reminding that this is the third Montenegrin presidency of the Charter, but first as a full-fledged NATO member. Marković also said that the primary objective of the US-Adriatic Charter is to provide support to aspirant countries in the process of approaching and joining the Alliance. He concluded that Montenegro will continue to advocate the rapid and efficient fulfilment of the goals, ie strengthening the comprehensive bilateral cooperation of the countries of South-Eastern Europe.
Minister Bošković emphasized that the US-Adriatic Charter represents an important forum for promoting the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the countries of Southeast Europe, as well as a powerful instrument for strengthening regional cooperation in the field of defence. He said that during the Montenegrin presidency, the Charter confirmed the commitment of member countries to good neighbourly cooperation and joint confrontation with contemporary security challenges, in order to preserve regional stability.
Cooper emphasized the importance of the role of the US-Adriatic Charter in strengthening mutual understanding and trust in the countries of the region. She said that security challenges and issues create a need for defining common resources and projects, which will also contribute to further development of national defence capacities, and that the United States will continue to support the efforts of the countries of the region in this regard.
The participants of the meeting reaffirmed their determination to continue contributing to regional security and stability, through strengthening good neighbourly relations, improving political dialogue and developing military cooperation, in order to ensure lasting peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Defence of BiH, Marina Pendeš, Defence Minister of Croatia, Damir Krstičević, Defence Minister of Macedonia, Radmila Šekerinska, Defence Minister of Kosovo, Rustem Beriša, Defence Minister of Albania, Olte Džačka, Slovenia’s State Secretary for Defence, Miloš Bizjak, and Serbia’s State Secretary for Defence, Aleksandar Živkovic.
