Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro, led by the Vice President, Mr Genci Nimanbegu, also the Head of Montenegro – Lithuania parliamentary Friendship Group, and members of the Group: Mr Andrija Nikolić, Ms Aleksandra Vuković and Mr Boris Mugoša, is paying an official visit to the Republic of Lithuania, from 17 to 19 June 2019.
During the two day visit, meetings were held with the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr Viktoras Pranckietis, deputy speakers of the Sejmas, Mr Gediminas Kirkilas and Mr Juozas Liesys, representatives of the Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with Montenegro of the Parliament of Lithuania, Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on European Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Linas Linkevičius, the Minister of National Defence of Lithuania, Mr Raimundas Karoblis and the Mayor of Lithuanian municipality of Trakai, Ms Edita Rudelienė.
High-level Lithuanian officials assessed as impressive Montenegro's progress in European integration so far and promised to provide further support to our country, which they saw as a positive example in the region.
A special emphasis during meetings was put on cooperation in the field of defence, which has been particularly intense since the two countries have become partners within NATO. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania expressed their gratitude to Montenegro for contributing to the security of the Baltic States, by sending Montenegrin soldiers to the NATO mission in Latvia.
The interlocutors looked back at the results of the last elections for the European Parliament, expressing hope that the new composition of the European Parliament and the European Commission would keep EU enlargement policies highly positioned on their agenda.
Cooperation within the twinning instrument was emphasised as an example of quality cooperation between Montenegro and the Republic of Lithuania, and the readiness for cooperation on new projects was expressed, especially in the areas of rural development and strengthening of administrative capacities.
Meetings also covered topics on promoting economic cooperation between Montenegro and Lithuania, the political challenges faced by the two countries, gender equality, and cooperation at the local level, through the proposed establishment of partnership between the Lithuanian municipality of Trakai and one of Montenegrin municipalities, which would be especially useful when applying for projects financed from European Union funds.
The visit of the delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to Lithuania, arranged at the invitation of the Group for interparliamentary relations with Montenegro of the Sejmas, was assessed as extremely successful and constructive, with mutual openness for further development of parliamentary cooperation.
