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Djukanovic Montnegro to Pay Off Plus-20-year-old Debt to Slovakia
Monday 18 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 18 (TASR) - Montenegro is about to settle a long-outstanding debt with Slovakia dating back to the times of the former socialist Yugoslavia, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said in Bratislava on Monday following a meeting with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico.
As of November 30, 2009, Slovakia registered a debt of €1,130,136 owed by this West Balkan country. "We don't want to put pressure on our outstandingly good bilateral relations over this issue. We'd rather focus only on this debt to be settled, which - with respect to both countries' state budgets - actually doesn't represent any significant sum," concluded Fico.
After the meeting the two officials also informed that both countries want to open their representative offices reciprocally. Slovakia is planning to open one in Podgorica this year, while the Montenegrin office should be established in Bratislava later on.
The premiers also agreed that the respective economy ministers will organise business forums focused on potential projects that both sides would benefit from. It turns out that Slovak investors could take part in road infrastructure construction projects, as these are now being blueprinted in Montenegro.
Djukanovic thanked Slovakia for what he called "an immense contribution" to the process of re-establishment of Montenegrin independence. As he pointed out, his country has received an invitation to the so-called Action Plan Membership, which would later allow the country to enter NATO. At the same time, Montenegro was on January 1 included among three West Balkan countries (together with Macedonia and Serbia) for whom the EU visa regime has been liberalised. Djukanovic expects that his country could be granted a candidate country status by the end of this year.
Fico said that his government fully supports Montenegro's integration ambitions, into both EU and NATO. "It's the best way how to guarantee stability in the region of West Balkans," he closed.
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