site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva Confers with Montenegro's President, Prime Minister

Podgorica, September 1 (BTA) - Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva conferred with Montenegro's President Filip Vujanovic and Prime Minister Dusko Markovic here on Friday on the second day of her two-day visit to Podgorica, which is a leg of her Balkan tour, Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release.

"Montenegro can be a role model in the region. At each meeting with Europe's political leaders, our Prime Minister, Mr Boyko Borissov, stresses the importance of enlargement to the Western Balkans," the guest emphasized during her session with Vujanovic. "It is important to show young people that there are prospects for good life here, so that they would not leave their countries."

The President thanked Bulgaria for the unqualified support to Montenegro's admission to NATO and added that they also rely on Bulgaria during the forthcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council.

"Prime Minister Borissov is right: we must seize every opportunity to improve relations and the economies in the region. The treaty with Macedonia, which Mr Borissov signed with Prime Minister Zaev, set a very good example to the rest of the countries," Vujanovic emphasized.

"We must demonstrate that we can solve our outstanding questions on our own, and this is one example of this," Zaharieva noted.

The Bulgarian Deputy PM and the Montenegrin head of State discussed a number of issues on the international agenda, as well as the current political situation in the region in the light of the European perspective of the candidate countries.

Markovic briefed Zaharieva on the action that his cabinet is taking to stabilize the country's economy, overcome the financial problems and attract more investments in infrastructure and energy. He stressed that Montenegro's accession to NATO will attract even more investors. The chief Bulgarian diplomat agreed, noting that nobody would pursue a business in a country which is seen as insecure.

"I would like to convey greetings from Prime Minister Borissov. I had numerous fruitful meetings with your ministers, and I expect our excellent relations to become even more practical," Zaharieva said. He congratulated the Montenegrin Government on the speed at which the negotiating chapters are being opened and the technical criteria for accession to the EU are being met.

Zaharieva and Markovic agreed to back the holding of a bilateral business forum so that Bulgarian companies could get familiar with investment opportunities in Montenegro. Markovic invited his counterpart Borissov to visit Podgorica.

Zaharieva's two-day visit also included a session with Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Zoran Pazin. They discussed the judicial reform in Montenegro, which overlaps to a certain extent with the Bulgarian judiciary organization model. The Judicial Council in Montenegro, however, does not have an independent inspectorate, and disciplinary proceedings are examined by a specialized commission of Council members. Zaharieva and Pazin agreed on organizing an experience-sharing meeting between the judicial councils of the two countries.

For his part, European Integration Minister Andrija Pejovic detailed Zaharieva on the state of the negotiating chapters and on the expectations for the European Commission's report on the state of the rule of law in Montenegro, due in November 2017, on which the opening of three more negotiating chapters before the end of the year depends.