Within the official visit to Montenegro by the Chairperson of the Committee for Foreign Policy of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament Mr László Borbély, meetings were held with the Friendship Group with the Romanian Parliament and the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants of the Parliament of Montenegro.

On day one of the visit, 8 March, a meeting was held with members of the Friendship Group with the Romanian Parliament.

On that occasion, Chair of the Friendship Group and Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Suljo Mustafić pointed out the continuity of very good cooperation between Montenegro and Romania, which was substantiated by intensive contacts at the highest political level.  

He stressed that parliamentary friendship groups were the best model of political cooperation, opening possibilities and paving the way to cooperation in other areas, and he highlighted, as particularly prosperous, cooperation in the fields of economy, tourism, energy, infrastructure, education and culture.

Romanian MP Mr László Borbély commended Montenegro’s achieved results in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration and noted that Montenegro stood out as the most successful of the countries in the Western Balkans region.

Mr Borbély offered expert assistance with regard to experiences of Romania in using the pre-accession funds, pointing out the fact that the absorption of funds offered by the European Union was key for the overall progress and could especially contribute to the necessary development of infrastructure.

The meeting was also attended by members of the Friendship Group of the Parliament of Montenegro with the Romanian Parliament Mr Miodrag Vuković, Mr Radivoje Nikčević, Mr Srđan Milić, Mr Dritan Abazović, and Ms Ljerka Dragičević.

********

On day two of the visit, 9 March, a meeting was held with the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants.

On that occasion, chairpersons of the two committees Mr Miodrag Vuković and Mr László Borbély exchanged experiences on work of the parliamentary working body in charge of foreign policy, responsibilities and position of that working body within the parliamentary structure, as well as the importance it held bearing in mind the very significant dimension of international cooperation.                   

The interlocutors exchanged their opinions on regional initiatives, models of closer cooperation within them, as well as previous experiences with regard to certain parliamentary dimensions of international organisations.

Mr Borbély and Mr Vuković agreed that it was necessary to promote regional cooperation within all available structures of multilateral cooperation, but also to use opportunities of parliamentary diplomacy which plays an increasingly significant role in modern international relations.

MP Borbély expressed complete openness for further cooperation but also support in continuation of Montenegro’s negotiations with the European Union, and commended it for the achieved progress on its path towards the NATO membership. In that respect, he informed the Committee members that there was a general consensus in Romania to be among the first to ratify the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to the North Atlantic Alliance.

The meeting was also attended by members of the Committee Mr Jasmin Sutović and Mr Nikola Gegaj.

The meetings with the Friendship Group and the Committee were also attended by the Ambassador of Romania to Montenegro H.E. Ferdinand Nagy, Deputy Head of Mission at the Romanian Embassy to Montenegro Mr Štefan Mihai, and Advisor at the Committee for Foreign Policy of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament Ms Szele Emese. 

The visit of Chairperson of the Committee for Foreign Policy of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament Mr László Borbély was organised upon the invitation of Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants Mr Miodrag Vuković.