04 July 2019 - President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović received a well-known American political scientist, writer and professor Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama, who is visiting Montenegro within the program "Prestigious Leadership Academy for Development" organized by the Faculty of Economics and Center for Democratic Transition with the support of the Center for democracy, development and rule of law of Stanford University, the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
President Đukanović expressed his satisfaction with the visit of Professor Fukuyama to Montenegro and the opportunity for Montenegrin students to hear his lecture, reported the Office of the President of Montenegro. He also added that Montenegro is a sincere advocate of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, primarily because of the need to adopt the European system of values and achieve European quality of life through the reform process. Noting that he is aware of the unpopularity of demanding reforms, he recalls that in this region we do not have the luxury of further lagging behind the developed Europe.
"With all European weaknesses, integration into the EU is an uncompromising need of the countries of the WB," Đukanović said.
Professor Fukuyama expressed his gratitude for the opportunity for the meeting during his first visit to Montenegro. He said that the reason for his frequent visits to our region was the existence of a confrontation between the two systems, liberal democracy on the one and the system that dominantly came from Russia and other countries. In this context, he welcomed Montenegro's decision to join NATO, stressing that this organization represents the most serious alliance in the world and a mechanism that preserves our values. Pointing to contemporary dangers such as populism, social networks and globalism, he expressed his belief in the survival and victory of a democratic system of values and the development of democracy.
"NATO and the EU are offering much better options than the alternatives we are exposed to," Fukuyama said.
Đukanović and Fukuyama also discussed other current European and global issues.
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