Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák will leave on Wednesday, June 6, for a visit to three Balkan countries, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria. During his visit to Montenegro, he will hold talks with his counterpart Milan Rocen. President Filip Vujanovic will receive him and he will also meet with the Speaker of the Parliament Ranko Krivokapic, Prime Minister Igor Luksic, and Deputy Prime Minister Dusko Markovic. In Podgorica, Minister Lajčák will primarily discuss the process of the European integration of Montenegro. Lajčák supports the opening of accession negotiations of Montenegro with the EU countries in June this year and wants to urge the Montenegrin partners to continue their reform and integration efforts.
Lajčák will address the opening ceremony of the second cycle of the National Convention of the European Union in Montenegro, the SITA newswire wrote. This is a project supported by the official Slovak Development Aid. During the visit, the foreign affairs ministers of both countries will sign an intergovernmental agreement on development cooperation.
Lajčák will be in Bosnia and Herzegovina from June 7 to 9 for talks with his counterpart Zlatko Lagumdzija and to meet with several leaders of local political parties. In Sarajevo, he will also meet with the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Peter Sorensen and speak at a seminar held on the occasion of the conclusion of the EU Police Mission in the country.
On Saturday, June 9, the Slovak minister will leave for a visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov. In addition to talks with his counterpart, Lajčák will be received by the Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev. The main topics of discussions will be bilateral cooperation, energy security, the current situation in the euro area and problems of development in countries of the Western Balkans. Before he took over the duties as foreign minister, Lajčák was the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU Special (2007-2009). In December 2010 he was appointed the European External Action Service’s Managing Director for Russia, the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans by the head of EU diplomacy, Lady Catherine Ashton.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
