NATO Secretary General & Prime Minister of Montenegro - Joint Press Conference

Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the joint press point with the Prime Minister of Montenegro Prime Minister, it is a pleasure to welcome you to NATO Headquarters. Montenegro is an important partner for the Alliance and an important aspirant to NATO membership. Your Euro-Atlantic integration is a vision that we all share. We are firm in our commitment to support you on your path towards NATO membership. It is now three years since Montenegro joined the Membership Action Plan. You have been making significant efforts to address the outstanding reform challenges which you face. The efforts that you make today will be vital for your progress towards the Alliance tomorrow. Montenegro's reforms are ambitious. And they are on the right path. We encourage you to continue your efforts, especially in reinforcing the rule of law, and fighting corruption and organised crime. More reforms in the defence sector will also be crucial. There is still hard work to do. But Montenegro is moving in the right direction. Montenegro has been a dedicated contributor to our ISAF operation in Afghanistan, You have given significant financial support to the Afghan National Security Forces. And we are grateful for all these contributions. We are also grateful for your commitment to remain engaged in Afghanistan beyond 2014. We are now planning a mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces once our current combat mission draws to a close, at the end of 2014. NATO will lead that mission. And Montenegro is fully associated with the planning process, along with a number of other partners who have pledged to make a significant contribution. So let me thank you for your commitment to our operations, to our dialogue, and to your future in the Euro-Atlantic community. From the event: http://goo.gl/xe9d0 NATO Homepage: http://www.nato.int