The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Srđan Darmanović, participated today in the online conference "Youth, migration and demographic challenges in the Western Balkans", which was organized as part of the German presidency of the Council of the EU, the ministry announced.
As announced, the conference was attended by, in addition to the host, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Heik Maas, the Vice-President of the European Commission for Demography and Democracy Dubravka Šuica, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhelji, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Michael Roth , as well as representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs of the countries of the Western Balkans.
"The focus of the discussion was the current situation in the region, as well as the determination of a joint strategy for the countries of origin and destination, especially bearing in mind the challenges in the Western Balkans caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," the statement said.
Head of German diplomacy Mas said that the key steps for the Western Balkans are the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan of the European Commission, the resolution of open bilateral issues and the joining of the countries of the EU region.
"Darmanović pointed out the importance of promoting and encouraging the engagement of young people throughout Europe, which, as he assessed, is of crucial importance in the time of the most challenging global crisis in this century," he said and added that "regardless of the fact that Montenegro has the lowest the rate of youth migration among the Balkan countries or even lower than some EU countries, the trend is still negative, which means that not only a national but also a regional response should be sought to this challenge".
He assessed that the mobility of young people should be facilitated by recognizing academic and professional qualifications, while he emphasized that the creation of better jobs, the development of skills and the encouragement of entrepreneurship are key factors in the fight against unemployment, and, as reported, he expressed his belief that Montenegro will continue to implement a policy that will reflect the expectations, aspirations and talents of young people and at the same time remain committed to regional cooperation under the auspices of the EU, with the aim of creating a better future for them in the Western Balkans.
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