Chairman of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Miodrag Vuković, at the invitation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated in the work of the Regional conference dedicated to the subject of ″Perspectives on foreign policy in regional and cross-border cooperation″, held on 14 May 2014 in Sarajevo.

The objectives of this conference were to raise awareness and knowledge of regional and cross-border cooperation among all decision-makers, in order to support their active participation in regional and cross-border processes, to create a platform for further constructive dialogue and discussion of common challenges, the development of a new approach to the labor policy towards cross-border cooperation, to exchange experiences with experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region (Montenegro, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia) and Switzerland.

Speaking of regional and cross-border cooperation, the Chairman of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants, Mr Miodrag Vuković said that Montenegro has defined regional cooperation as one of the most important foreign policy priorities, and that it actively participated in a number of regional organizations and initiatives.

Chairman Vuković noted that, through intensive regional neighborly cooperation, one of the main objectives for the region to be stable and prosperous could be achieved, which greatly facilitated the realization of both the individual and shared vision of the almost complete integration of the region and its countries into the European Union and NATO.

- Through responsible chairing of regional mechanisms, Montenegro has been contributing to permanent positioning of our country on the European map, through continuous improvement of the structural, regional dialogue and promotion of common values ​​based on European principles and standards, Mr Vuković pointed out.

Mr Vuković informed the participants of the Conference with the fact that Montenegro was the seat of two important initiatives of the Secretariat of the RCC Working Group for Culture and Society in Cetinje and RESPA in Danilovgrad, and that it was a full member of 21 regional organization and initiative, and that it currently chaired over the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Initiative for South Eastern Europe (DPPI SEE).

At the end of his speech, Chairman Vuković concluded that integrative strategic goals of Montenegro - the entry into the European Union and NATO, were not possible without the active role in regional cooperation and consideration of foreign policy in a regional context.

Conference participants agreed that it was necessary to create new and reactivate old networks of cross-border partnerships in order to develop joint initiatives and actions.