The Parliament of Montenegro is represented by Deputy Head of the Permanent Delegation to NATO PA Mr Obrad Mišo Stanišić

The 18th annual Transatlantic Forum of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly is implemented in cooperation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly with the Atlantic Council of the United States, the Institute for National Strategic Studies of the National Defense University, in the period 10-12 December 2018, in Washington, DC, USA.

On day one of the Transatlantic Forum, the participants were greeted by: Vice Admiral Frederick J. Roegge, President of the National Defense University; Mr Damon Wilson, Executive Vice-President, Atlantic Council, and Ms Madeleine Moon, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

This was followed by the session one, moderated by the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and the participants were addressed by Mr Michael J. Murphy, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs, who in his introductory remarks highlighted the honour and pleasure regarding his participation in the event and wished the participants to have successful work.         

Session two, moderated by Mr Franklin van Kappen from the Netherlands, Vice-President of the NATO PA, was dedicated to the topic “Meeting the challenge in Afghanistan and South Asia”, and on this occasion, the Forum participants were addressed by Ms Annie Pforzheimer, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, US Department of State, with remarks on “Afghanistan in a regional perspective: an administration point of view”, and Mr Johnny Walsh, Senior Expert on Afghanistan, US Institute of Peace, “Building Peace in Afghanistan”.

During the discussion that followed, the NATO PA members developed a dialogue based on a variety of issues treating the Washington’s perspective in the context of the situation in the southern part of Asia, with special reference to the current challenges and how to prevent them or to overcome consequences thereof. On this occasion, they gave an overview of the situation in Afghanistan, the current challenges, and the manners to address them.

Session three, dedicated to the new and old challenges in the Middle East, was moderated by Mr Osman Askin Bak from Turkey, Vice-President of the NATO PA, and on this occasion the speeches were given by Ms Yasmine Farouk, Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on “The Khashoggi Affair, the War in Yemen and the Future of US-Saudi Relations”, and Mr Bruce Hoffman, Director of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) and the Security Studies Program (SSP), and Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, on:  “What have we learned from the Global fight against ISIS?”.

The 18th Annual Transatlantic Forum of the NATO PA gathers parliamentarians - members of permanent delegations of the NATO member states, as well as associate members from the EU member states Austria, Finland, and Sweden.

The Forum is held annually in Washington, DC, in cooperation with the National Defense University and the Atlantic Council of the United States of America.

On this occasion, the Parliament of Montenegro is represented by Deputy Head of the Permanent Delegation to NATO PA Mr Obrad Mišo Stanišić.

The Forum is to be continued today.