Bulgaria will continue to be Montenegro’s advocate for its prompt accession to the Euro-Atlantic family, President Rosen Plevneliev told his counterpart from Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, at whose invitation he is on a two-day official visit to Montenegro. The Bulgarian President was welcomed with an official ceremony in Cetinje.

After the talks he held with the Head of State of Montenegro, Rosen Plevneliev said that the country’s NATO integration will be a historical chance not only for Montenegro, but also for the Western Balkans and South-Eastern Europe. The membership in the Alliance means security and if it is guaranteed both the investments and the number of tourists will multiply, President Plevneliev commented. This is one of the results of Bulgaria’s ten-year NATO membership, the Head of State added.

The two Heads of State highlighted Montenegro’s considerable progress on its way toward European integration and said that the country has set a good example for its neighbors in the Western Balkans.

Although the political relations between the two countries are excellent , the unused potential of the economic relations is still considerable, Rosen Plevneliev and Filip Vujanovic further added. The bilateral trade for 2012 is worth a mere 15 million euros and a growth worth 35 percent was recorded in 2013. According to President Plevneliev, companies from Bulgaria and Montenegro may work together in the sectors of agriculture and food production, infrastructure, tourism and others. Strengthening the contacts between the ports in Burgas and Varna, on the one hand, and those in the Adriatic coast will create good opportunities for improving the economic relations and the development of the whole region.

Presidents Plevneliev and Vujanovic called on the two countries to consider the opportunity for establishing direct air links between Sofia and Podgorica. The lack of a direct air link between Bulgaria and Montenegro considerably hinders the bilateral economic contacts. The better the cohesion in the Balkans is, the better future and prosperity the region will have as a whole, President Plevneliev said.

On the first day of his visit to Montenegro, the Head of State held talks with Milo Dukanovic, prime minister of the country, and with Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic.