COMKFOR met with the Ministers of Defense and Interior of Montenegro

Podgorica - General Cuoci, during the periodic meetings with countries bordering Kosovo, went to Montenegro to meet Defense Minister Predrag Boskovic and the Minister of Interior Mevludin Nuhodžić.
Minister Predrag Boskovic thanked the KFOR Commander for the visit, stating that the cooperation between the Ministry of Defense and Kosovo Force is excellent and that this will also be in the near future.

Minister Bošković underlined the importance of the NATO mission, led by General CUOCI, for the stability of Kosovo and the whole region. He expressed his conviction that the day will come when the security situation in Kosovo will normalize and the institutions in Kosovo will have the capacity to face all future challenges. He added that to ensure the security of all the Western Balkans there is the recent entry of Montenegro into NATO and that Montenegro will continue to contribute to the stability of Kosovo.

The Minister subsequently updated General CUOCI on the most important challenges facing the Ministry in the next period, emphasizing in particular the participation of Montenegro in peacekeeping missions under the leadership of NATO, the United Nations and the EU. In this context, the minister informed General Cuoci that in the course of 2018 Montenegro will send two officers to the NATO mission in Kosovo, one to the KFOR HQ in Pristina and another as a liaison officer in Skopje.

General CUOCI, thanked Minister Bošković for his deep appreciation to KFOR and said he was particularly pleased that he has been the first commander of KFOR to have visited Montenegro as a full member of NATO. He also stressed that for the stability of the whole region, the fact that Montenegro became the 29th member of the Alliance, in the name of those values promoted by NATO, is a matter of extraordinary importance.
General CUOCI has updated the minister about the current situation in Kosovo, assessed as stable, despite the constant challenges that the mission is facing directly on the ground.

The Commander of KFOR has confirmed that the cooperation with Montenegro is at a very high level, especially in that segment more closely linked to logistics and that will be intensified with the introduction of new activities.

During his visit to Montenegro, General CUOCI had the opportunity to meet the Army Chief of Staff of Montenegro, Brigadier General Ilija Dakovic, and they spoke about the current situation in the region, noting that Montenegro's accession to NATO represents a further factor of stability for the Western Balkans.

General Dakovic informed General Cuoci of the main tasks and processes of the Montenegrin Army, as well as of the future steps they intend to take towards the full integration and interoperability of the Montenegrin armed forces with the members of the Alliance.

The day of meetings continued at the Ministry of the Interior where General CUOCI was received by Minister Mevludin Nuhodžić and the Director of Police Slavko Stojanovic.
Minister Nuhodžić stated that Montenegro will continue to contribute to stability and security in the region and then he updated General CUOCI on the activities carried out by the Ministry and the reforms adopted so far in light of Montenegro's recent accession to NATO.

The meeting also discussed activities aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, migration policies, and aspects related to the fight against terrorism.

General CUOCI thanked the ministers for the fruitful day of talks, hoping more and more cooperation to maintain the security and stability of the area, ensuring the constant commitment of KFOR in the name of his motto "Enduring Commitment".