BRATISLAVA/PODGORICA, September 14, (WEBNOVINY) — President Ivan Gasparovic, who has been on an official visit to Montenegro since Monday, September 12 agrees with his counterpart Filip Vujanovic on the need to intensify mutual economic and trade cooperation with this country in the Balkans. The heads of states announced this after an official bilateral meeting held in the president’s residence in the town of Cetinje. According to Gasparovic, “ the good quality of political dialogue between the Slovak Republic and Montenegro should translate also into a more intensive development of trade and economic cooperation.” The Slovak president added that mutual trade worth EUR 7 million is deeply below the potential of both economies.
Vujanovic added that extraordinarily good political relations should be enhanced by the economic dimension. Gasparovic expressed his belief that the business forum held in Montenegro this week will help improve economic cooperation.
President Gasparovic praised Montenegro’s achievements since becoming an independent country five years ago, as well as EU and NATO aspirations. “Over the five years of its independence, Montenegro has achieved great progress in the Euro-Atlantic integration and in building of its statehood,” Gasparovic commented. The president labeled Montenegro a “stabilizing element” in the western Balkans. He reassured his counterpart that Slovakia fully supports Montenegro’s integration in the European Union and NATO. Gasparovic concluded by saying that the project of the National Convent on the EU in Montenegro, started in April of this year with help of Slovakia’s diplomacy, opened a new phase of cooperation of the government with the civil society sector.
SITA