The Ambassador of the Republic of Albania and the Military Attaché to Montenegro, Colonel Beqir Tafili, met with Minister Dragan Krapović within the framework of his inaugural visit to the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro.

Minister Krapović wished Colonel Tafili success in carrying out his duties as the new Military Attaché accredited to Montenegro, with his belief that during his mandate, the very good cooperation will be further strengthened and will ensure that Montenegro and Albania continue to actively contribute to the stability of our region.

He noted that the relations between Montenegro and Albania in the field of defense are intensive and that our cooperation is successfully implemented through numerous joint activities.

Furthermore, he also noted that Montenegro appreciates the support that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania provide to the members of the Montenegrin Army during the preparations and pre-deployment exercises for international missions and operations, which are carried out at military training grounds in the Republic of Albania.

Minister Krapović also stressed the importance of the joint contribution to the collective security system and expressed satisfaction with the planned joint participation in the NATO naval exercise “Sea Guardian”.

The Minister informed Colonel Tafili about the foreign policy priorities of the Government of Montenegro, among which a special focus is the European integration and strengthening regional cooperation. He informed his interlocutor that Montenegro has allocated 2.02 % of GDP for the defense budget, and over 35 % of the budget is dedicated to the modernization of defense capacities.

Colonel Tafili expressed his satisfaction for being accredited to Montenegro and emphasized that he will be committed to further improving defense cooperation between the two countries during his mandate.

Ambassador Peto stressed the importance of further improving cooperation between Montenegro and Albania as allies within NATO, and emphasized the common European orientation, with the belief that by working together to promote democratic values, we can jointly contribute to the affirmation of the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective of the entire region.

In addition, Colonel Tafili held separate meetings with the Acting General Director of the Directorate for Defense Policy, Mrs. Radmila Perović, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarević.