Today, September 5, 2006 at 11:00am, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Republic of Montenegro ratified a protocol formally establishing plenary diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level.

The agreement was signed in Podgorica at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Montenegro between H.E. Mr. Alberto Leoncini Bartoli, Ambassador and Diplomatic Counsellor of the Order, and the Montenegrin Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Miodrag Vlahović.

During the press conference that followed, H.E. Minister Vlahović emphasized that, after Montenegro achieved full independence from Serbia, there was a need to re-establish bilateral relations with the Order of Malta, relations that had been already maintained by the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro since 2001.