Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Milan Roćen met today with the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy Sergio Barbanti.

Minister Roćen and Ambassador Barbanti underlined the importance of the forthcoming visit of Minister Franco Frattini to Montenegro and noted that the two friendly countries marked a continuous progress in developing and strengthening wide-ranging cooperation and political contacts at all levels, indicative of which are numerous new initiatives. In that context, they said it was important that high representatives from Italy would participate at the Climate Change Conference in Montenegro, which would contribute to regional and global efforts for tackling this problem, and strengthen the cooperation of the two countries in the field of environment. The cooperation in this sphere is important for achieving common goals, such as the pollution prevention of the Adriatic Sea and the offshore zone, particularly in the context of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative.

They further underlined the importance of the successful implementation of numerous joint cultural projects, and expressed satisfaction over the palpable results achieved in the fields of economy and tourism.

Minister Roćen and Ambassador Barbanti agreed that the finalization of the visa liberalization process for the Western Balkans would intensify partnership between Montenegro and Italy and open new opportunities for concrete and dynamic regional cooperation, which would push forward the countries of the region in their European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes. Ambassador Barbanti said Italy would continue to provide its assistance to this end.