Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimović met on the first day of his stay in New York with Deputy Secretary of State at the State Department Michelle Sison, and on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, he participated in the ministerial meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans Group and the Global Governance Group ( 3G).
"Montenegro and the USA are strategic partners, allies in NATO, and we want to further strengthen our substantive interstate relations by intensifying economic cooperation as well as joint activities on a multilateral level," said Ibrahimović in a conversation with Sison.
As announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he pointed out that Montenegro has chosen its strategic path of development, based on European and Euro-Atlantic values, and that it will not deviate from that path.
"We want to strengthen partnerships with friendly countries and work together on the development and prosperity of Montenegrin society, but also of the region as a whole," said Ibrahimović.
According to the press release, Sison praised Montenegro's progress in achieving key priorities in foreign policy, and reiterated that the US fully supports the continuation of Montenegro's further integration into the EU, with very good bilateral cooperation.
"She assessed positively the intensification of Montenegro's activities on the multilateral level, and, in this regard, encouraged further activities in connection with the candidacy for a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2026/2027. Sison expressed her gratitude for the constructive cooperation and active role of Montenegro within the Council for human rights and praised Montenegro's contribution to peacekeeping missions and operations. She also highlighted our country's support and assistance to Ukraine," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
On the sidelines of GSUN, a ministerial meeting of the Friends of the Western Balkans group was held, which was hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani.
It was announced at the meeting that the EU member states that have formed the group of friends of the Western Balkans strongly advocate the accession of the states of the region to the European Union as soon as possible, which represents a mutual interest.
Tajani said that the EU has sent clear messages and that the enlargement policy is a priority of the new Commission, which provides an additional incentive for the candidate countries to continue on the path of reforms.
He also said that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic interest for Italy.
Ibrahimović emphasized that membership in the EU is the surest path for further development and long-term stability of the Western Balkans.
"And this is, at the same time, a common vision of development, bearing in mind that we share a European perspective. Montenegro has set the goal of becoming a member in 2028, and we have focused all our capacities on that," said Ibrahimović.
He assessed that Montenegro's progress is good news for other candidate countries and that among the foreign policy priorities is good-neighborly cooperation, which it fosters bilaterally, but also through the EU integration process.
During the first day of his participation in the GSUN, Ibrahimović will have a series of bilateral meetings, and he will also participate in an event dedicated to artificial intelligence at the ministerial level, whose domestic secretary of state is Anthony Blinken.
Bonus video:
