Minister of Foreign Affairs Milan Roćen had a number of bilateral meetings during the first day of his visit to Almaty, where he is attending a two-day OSCE Ministerial Meeting.

The host, Minister Kanat Saudabayev thanked Montenegro for its support to Kazakhstan’s Presidency over this Organisation and its very constructive cooperation. Talking about the priorities of the Chairmanship he expressed assurance that the final decision regarding the next OSCE Summit in Astana taking place later this year will be made at this Ministerial Meeting.

Minister Roćen and Minister Saudabayev also exchanged opinions concerning further development of bilateral relations and strengthening political contacts which, as they agreed, will contribute to further deepening of cooperation to the mutual benefit.

The UK Minister for Europe David Lidington said that his country strongly supports Montenegro’s accession to the EU and NATO and has conveyed London’s full willingness to provide assistance to Montenegro’s further progress in this matter. He said Montenegro’s achievements so far concerning European and Euro-Atlantic integrations were encouraging and anticipated a positive opinion by EC on Montenegro’s candidate status, which, he emphasised, will give an additional impetus to further reforms and Montenegro’s progress towards the EU.

Minister Roćen thanked the UK Government for its support to Montenegro and its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. He reiterated the achievements Montenegro had attained in a short period and emphasised the fact that this success would not be possible without the support of the key countries such as the UK, as well as the neighbouring countries. Minister Roćen said that regional cooperation and accession to the EU and NATO are Montenegro’s strategic goals and reiterated its full commitment to achieving these priorities.

Minister Roćen also had a separate meeting with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović. He said that her appointment is, above all, a professional success, but also a huge acknowledgement, not only for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for the region as a whole. Minister Roćen and Ms Mijatović expressed readiness to further strengthen cooperation in this particularly important domain.