On Tuesday January 19, 2010, a Montenegrin Delegation headed by the Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Milo Đukanović, and composed of T.Exc. the Vice-Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Dr. Igor Lukšić, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Milan Roćen, and the Prime Minister’s Head of Cabinet, Mr. Vojin Vlahović, departed for a three-day official tour to the United States of America (Jan. 20-22), aimed at promoting Montenegro’s bid to join both the European Union (EU) and NATO, and alternatively to reinforce economic ties between the two long-time friendly Nations.

Accompanied by H.E. Ambassador Mr. Miodrag Vlahović, the Montenegrin Delegation started its political marathon in Washington, D.C., today, on Wednesday January 20 morning, by a series of meetings with several U.S. Senators, including (i) The Hon. Dick Lugar (Republican-Indiana), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; (ii) The Hon. John McCain (Arizona), Republican nominee for President in the 2008 U.S. election and long-time supporter of Montenegro — who strongly lobbied for its independence from Serbia [1], regularly visiting the country from 2006 (lastly in August 2008) and whose friend and former presidential campaign manager, the well-connected political consultant Mr. Rick Davis, advised the Government of Montenegro through his lobbying firm, Davis, Manafort & Freedman Inc. (Arlington, Virginia), to help run the country’s independence referendum campaign of 2006; and (iii) The Hon. Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission [2]. Speaking as CSCE’s Chairman, Senator Cardin declared to have had a positive meeting with Prime Minister Đukanović on a wide range of bilateral issues. “Montenegro is moving closer to NATO and EU membership. I believe that Montenegro is committed to the path of Euro-Atlantic integration and will take the further steps necessary to make that a reality. The Helsinki Commission will continue to encourage those efforts. The Commission has for many years supported reform in Montenegro, especially in areas like combating human trafficking. We are pleased with the progress Montenegro has achieved, particularly since independence in 2006, but we hope reforms will continue. We discussed the situation in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has deteriorated in recent years. Prime Minister Đukanović and I share the view that the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina must be respected. We also believe that the United States needs to remain actively engaged in the country and the Western Balkans more broadly until all countries of the region are on a clear track to join NATO and/or the EU.”

Subsequently, the Montenegrin Delegation was received at 03:00pm local time (EST) at the U.S. Department of State by The Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, for a 30-minute meeting focused on bilateral and outstanding regional issues, as well as on the key role Montenegro plays to ensure stability in the Western Balkans. Speaking at a joint press conference given by Secretary Clinton and Prime Minister Đukanović in the Treaty Room after their talks, the Head of the American diplomacy stated considering the U.S.-Montenegro partnership as very strong, stressing that it is called to become even more closer in the future. She congratulated Prime Minister Đukanović on his country achieving MAP status with the Atlantic Alliance, and pledged the U.S. support both for Montenegro becoming an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic community and for enabling the country to make some of the reforms in the Rule of Law area that both NATO and the EU are looking to see. As for him, Prime Minister Đukanović reiterated the readiness of his Government “to work hard to fulfil all the obligations in the next stages of our integration,” voicing confidence that Montenegro will be the next country to become a member of the Alliance. “Our two challenges for the future are improving, enhancing the Rule of Law, and we stand committed to doing this in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens and achieve our European and Euro-Atlantic goals as soon as possible,” he stressed, adding that Montenegro “is and will remain a responsible and reliable partner to the U.S. and EU in dealing with the still outstanding issues in the Balkans.”

Following is the full audio record in English of the concluding joint press conference given by Secretary Clinton and Prime Minister Đukanović (interpreter), in Washington, D.C., USA, January 20 03:30pm:

Immediately after the press conference, the Montenegrin Delegation went straight to the White House to be received at 04:00pm local time by the Vice-President of the United States, The Hon. Joe Biden, another long-time friend of Montenegro who hardly worked in the 90’s, then Senator for Delaware (Democrat), together with U.S. diplomat Robert Gelbard, then President Bill Clinton’s envoy to the Balkans, to prevent the country and its citizens to be entertained by Milošević’s regime into the Yugoslav conflict [3]. Later, as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (2001-2003) [4], he publicly opposed President George W. Bush’s administration and the EU on the issue of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (SCG), becoming one of the greatest supporters of Montenegro’s independence in the U.S. Congress. Under his impulse, the Congress earmarked or recommended millions of dollars of aid to Montenegro.
During the meeting — initially scheduled to last 25 minutes and which finally went on for over an hour, sides reviewed in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere the strong bilateral ties that have grown up over the past two decades between the two countries, and discussed progress and challenges for Montenegro in its Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as the country’s positive role in promoting stability in the Western Balkans. Reflecting the general consensus of the American position towards Montenegro, Vice-President Biden reiterated U.S. support for the country’s aspirations to NATO and EU membership, and thanked Prime Minister Đukanović for his leadership and for Montenegro’s plans to contribute to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

This first day of political meetings was covered by internationally renowned photographer Mr. Ralph Alswang, former official documentary photographer of the President and the First Lady during President Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Tomorrow in the morning (from 10:00am local time), the Prime Minister is scheduled to speak at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He will discuss “Montenegro’s Path to Euro-Atlantic Institutions” as part the SAIS Centre for Transatlantic Relations’ “Transatlantic Leaders Forum”; the session will be moderated by Dr. Mike Haltzel, Senior Fellow at the Centre and former Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Joe Biden from 1994 to 2005.

Announcement of the “Transatlantic Leaders Forum” event with Prime Minister Đukanović

In the afternoon, the Montenegrin Delegation will continue its political talks at the U.S. Congress, most notably by meeting (i) Senator Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire-Democrat), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; (ii) Congressman Bill Delahunt (Tenth Congressional District of Massachusetts-Democrat), member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe; (iii) Congressman John Tanner (Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee-Democrat), member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and of the Subcommittee on Europe, and President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO-PA); and (iv) Senator Mark Udall (Colorado-Democrat), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services (SASC. A meeting is also scheduled with representatives of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC).

The three-day official visit to the United States of America will end on Friday January 22, by a series of bilateral talks at the Headquarter of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and at the World Bank, respectively with Messrs. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Managing Director, and Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group, after which the Montenegrin Delegation will departed for Annapolis, capital of the State of Maryland, about 47 kms East of Washington, D.C., to be received privately at 01:45pm local time at the State House by Governor Martin O’Malley (Democrat) to hold talks on economic development initiatives in Montenegro and the Western Balkans. The meeting will be followed by a public reception at 02:15pm local time in the Governor’s Reception Room.

Alternatively, during his stay in Washington, D.C., Prime Minister Đukanović is scheduled to go to the TV studios of “Voice of America” (VOA) to record an exclusive interview with the channel’s popular reporter and presenter Milena Đurđić [5], to be broadcasted during the weekend’s special TV show “Open Studio” (Otvoreni Studio) [to be confirmed].
Also, because of his extremely busy agenda during the United Nations General Assembly week 2009 in New York City, N.Y., on September 20-26 last, Prime Minister Đukanović did not have at that time the opportunity to go to the encounter of the Montenegrin Diaspora in America and Canada. Then, as part of the series of receptions organised during the official visit, Ambassador Vlahović has planned to host at the University Club of Washington D.C., one of the premier private clubs in the country and the general rendezvous of all the U.S. capital’s diplomatic community, a cocktail party in honour of the Montenegrin Delegation which will gather together, among other guests, some of the distinguished representatives from both diasporas, as well as some Montenegrin nationals currently in the United States for academic studies or training programs.