The president of Montenegro, in an address before the United Nations General Assembly, said the small Balkan nation is already enjoying "significant economic benefits" from its bid to join the European Union.
"Montenegro has proved to be a reliable partner of the European Union [and] accession negotiations have already ensured significant economic benefits," President Filip Vujanovic said on September 20, according to an English-language transcript of his remarks provided on the UN's website.
Vujanovic said his country's bid to join the EU and recent acceptance into the NATO military alliance show that its commitment to peaceful, multilateral processes for achieving change, prosperity, and stability has produced results.
He said Montenegro's experience sets an example that should be followed by other, troubled nations in the region and around the world.
"It is of great importance for Montenegro that it became the 29th member of the North Atlantic Alliance," enabling it to open a new chapter and put the Balkan war of the 1990s behind, he said.
"Montenegro is a part of the region whose experience has shown that dialogue and cooperation are possible and that they are the only way to overcome differences and achieve peace and lasting solutions," he said.
Montenegro's record of protecting human rights and improving rights conditions recently led to it becoming a candidate for membership on the UN's Human Rights Council in 2022, he said.
Because of the benefits Montenegro has experienced from joining in international efforts and organizations, Vujanovic said his country will organize a conference for the Balkan region early next year to try to "share our experience" and promote the resolution of lingering conflicts in the region.
