Official working visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Nebojsa Kaluderovic
Bern, 19.11.2012 - On Monday, 19 November 2012, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Nebojsa Kaluderovic, in Bern for an official working visit. Talks covered bilateral relations, European policy, and various issues relating to current international events.
Switzerland, which recognized Montenegro in June 2006 following its peaceful separation from Serbia, maintains excellent relations with the country, noted the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on welcoming his guest. This was the first official visit to Switzerland by a representative of Montenegro of this rank.
Discussions between Messrs. Burkhalter and Kaluderovic centered on bilateral relations. The first political consultations between Switzerland and Montenegro took place in 2009. The opening of a Consulate General in Podgorica in March 2011 contributed to a further consolidation of relations between the two countries. Cooperation inside the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the agreement between Montenegro and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and agreements concerning migration, air transport, and agriculture are among the focal points of bilateral cooperation.
European policy was also discussed in the talks between the delegations. Negotiations on the accession of Montenegro to the European Union (EU) were opened at the end of June 2012, recalled the Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs. For his part, Mr Burkhalter explained to his counterpart the bilateral approach adopted by Switzerland and the proposals made by the Federal Council concerning institutional matters transmitted this past June to the European Commission.
Messrs. Burkhalter and Kaluderovic also discussed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which Switzerland will hold the chairmanship in 2014. Montenegro is the 56th and most recent country to have joined the OSCE. Lastly, the two Ministers reviewed current international events including, in particular, the situation in Syria.
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