Thewesternbalkans
During his working visit to the United States of America, President Milatović, as the youngest head of a member state of the Alliance, opened the NATO 2024 Youth Summit ‘Shaping Your Tomorrow’.
Taking place in Miami, US, and Stockholm, Sweden, the summit serves as a platform to engage, enhance understanding, exchange views, and explore how the transatlantic Alliance addresses current and future challenges and is a collaborative effort between NATO, the Aspen Institute, the Swedish Defense University and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
“As the youngest president of a NATO member country, I am proud that I am representing a new generation of politicians on the Western Balkans and Montenegro, the country that has taken important steps in democratic maturity”, Milatović emphasized.
Milatović underscored that NATO’s importance is not only reflected on the global security, but also in its response to hybrid threats and misinformation.
Montenegro’s NATO membership significantly contributes to strengthening of the rule of law and the independence of the institutions, said President Milatović, adding that, in the light of growing global security challenges, the NATO influence is more important than ever.
Comment: Montenegro has been a member of NATO since June 2017. Despite the great efforts of the newly elected government to establish the country as a reliable partner of the Alliance in the region and increase its defense budget to 2% for 2024, Serbia and Russia continue to have influence in the country.
The latest report of IRI (International Republican Institute), issued on May 14, shows that full membership in NATO is best served for the Montenegro’s future only according to 39% of the respondents, compared to 41% in 2022. The only Western Balkan country where this percent is smaller is Serbia.
