Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Montenegro.

The UK maintains a strong relationship with Montenegro. We work closely together bilaterally as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and look forward to hosting the Government of Montenegro this autumn at the Berlin Process summit. On 28 May we signed a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between Montenegro and the UK. This Declaration enhances future cooperation between the two countries across a wide range of areas, including security, serious and organised crime, economic development, the rule of law, migration, education, and culture. In May the UK Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Karen Pierce, visited Montenegro. The Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and I also visited Montenegro this year to further our bilateral relationship.