INTERVIEW
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MONTENEGRO'S MEMBERSHIP IN THE EU IS THE ULTIMATE FOREIGN POLICY GOAL DJORDJE RADULOVIĆ Foreign Affairs Minister
The unity of the Western Balkan countries around the idea of a common European future is the key to lasting stability and prosperity, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations in our region strengthen the ties between two countries, attract investments and initiate important projects. One of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' priorities is the professionalization and education of diplomatic staff, through cooperation with diplomatic academies and referential institutions in the international relations segment, all to improve the base of career diplomats, who would represent their country at the expert level. The new government is ready to intensify contacts with the EU and make concrete progress in Chapters 23 and 24 so that we can start closing the re-
ne of the key postulates of our foreign policy is to promote regional cooperation and nurture good neighbourly relations. We are ready to build constructive relations with our closest neighbours, especially bearing in mind the fact that we belong to a common socio-historical milieu. EU membership is the main priority of this Government because Montenegrin society shares European values.
Focus
MONTENEGRO 2021
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What are the priorities on your Ministry's agenda and the Government
of Montenegro's agenda this year? In addition to dedicated and continuous work on the implementation of foreign policy priorities, we plan to expand the diplomatic and consular network, primarily by opening embassies in The Hague and Copenhagen, considering that the Netherlands is one of the most demanding EU members in terms of the enlargement policy. A lot of our people live in Scandinavia, so having a resident office in Denmark would be important for covering that region. We also plan to open an embassy in Israel, an opportunity that would
THE INVITATION WE SENT TO PRIME MINISTER ANA BRNABIĆ AND MINISTER SELAKOVIĆ TO VISIT MONTENEGRO IS STILL ON THE TABLE maining chapters. Although we have been negotiating in the old way for eight years, Montenegro accepted the new methodology, to show that it belongs to the West politically and value-wise, and to show that EU membership is our ultimate foreign policy
