Foreign relations of Montenegro

In a referendum on 21 May 2006, the people of Montenegro opted to leave the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. This result was confirmed with a declaration of independence by the Montenegrin parliament on 3 June 2006. It simultaneously requested international recognition and outlined foreign policy goals.

As enumerated in the parliamentary declaration of 3 June 2006, Montenegro's near-term primary foreign policy objectives are integration into the European Union, membership in the United Nations, to which it was admitted on 28 June 2006 and in NATO (which it joined as of 2017).

Russia gave official recognition on 11 June 2006, and was the first permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to do so. The European Council of Ministers recognized Montenegrin independence on 12 June, as did the United States.[1] The United Kingdom extended recognition on 13 June. The last two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, France and the People's Republic of China recognised the government of Montenegro on 14 June.

Membership in international organizations

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Organization Application date Admission date
  NATO Full Membership 04 Dec 2009 5 June 2017
NATO's Partnership for Peace [1] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine 30 August 2006 [2] Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine 14 December 2006 [3]
  International Criminal Court (ICCt) 23 October 2006 [4]
Council of Europe (CoE) [5] 6 June 2006 [6] 11 May 2007 [7]
Southeast European Cooperation Process (SECP) 11 May 2007 [8] Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) not granted because of the Cyprus dispute [9] Archived 2007-09-30 at archive.today
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)  Y [10]
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1 March 2007 [11]
World Trade Organization (WTO) 10 December 2004 [12] 29 April 2012[13]
  United Nations (UN) [14] 5 June 2006 28 June 2006 [15] [16]
  World Health Organization (WHO) 29 August 2006 14 September 2006 [17]
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 21 June 2006 [18] Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine[19]
Energy Community 1 January 2007 [20]
  Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) [21] [22] Archived 2021-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
5 June 2006 [23] 22 June 2006 [24] Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  International Labour Organization (ILO) 18 July 2006 [25]
  Universal Postal Union (UPU) 26 July 2006 [26] Archived 2010-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
Central European Initiative (CEI) 2 August 2006 [27] Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe 3 August 2006 [28]  Y [29]
  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 14 June 2006 [30] 18 September 2006 [31]
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) 27 July 2006 [32] 22 September 2006 [33]
 International Maritime Organization (IMO) [34] 10 October 2006 [35]
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) [36] 16 October 2006 [37]
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) 23 October 2006 [38]
World Customs Organization (WCO) 24 October 2006 [39]
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 25 October 2006[40] Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)   [41] Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 22 November 2006 [42] Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine
International Organization for Migration (IOM) 28 November 2006 [43]
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 4 December 2006 [44]
International Monetary Fund (IMF) 18 July 2006 [45] 18 January 2007 [46]
World Bank Group (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA) 3 August 2006 [47] Archived 2008-03-24 at the Wayback Machine 18 January 2007 [48]
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)   [49] [50] Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine
  World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 25 May 2007 [51]
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 30 November 2007 [52]
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) 21 September 2006 [53]
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 16 February 2015
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)  
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)  
  Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) 3 June 2006 [54]
Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) June 2008 [55]
European Civil Aviation Conference June 2008 [56]
  EUROCONTROL 1 July 2007 [57]
  Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 17 November 2007[58] Archived 27 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)   [59]
Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) 1 July 2010 [60]
Council of Bureaux (CoBx) [61] 2012[62]
Union for the Mediterranean 13 July 2008
Full European Union Membership 15 December 2008
International Sports Organizations
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) 27 July 2006 [63]
International Handball Federation (IHF) 7 August 2006 [64]
International Swimming Federation (FINA) 21 August 2006 [65] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
International Tennis Federation (ITF) 24 August 2006 [66]
International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 27 August 2006 [67]
International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) 23 October 2006 [68]
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) 30 June 2006 26 January 2007 [69]
World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) 17 May 2007 [70]
  International Football Federation (FIFA) 30 June 2006 31 May 2007 [71]
International Archery Federation (FITA) 5 July 2007 [72] Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  International Olympic Committee (IOC) 6 July 2007 [73]
International Bowling Federation (FIQ) 30 August 2007 [74] Archived 2019-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)  

Diplomatic relations

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List of countries which Montenegro maintains diplomatic relations with:

 
# Country[2] Date
1   Estonia 13 June 2006
2   United Kingdom 13 June 2006
3   France 13 June 2006
4   North Macedonia 14 June 2006
5   Hungary 14 June 2006
6   Italy 14 June 2006
7   Germany 14 June 2006
8   Czech Republic 15 June 2006
9   Denmark 15 June 2006
10   Latvia 19 June 2006
11   Ireland 20 June 2006
12   Norway 21 June 2006
13   Slovenia 21 June 2006
14   Serbia 22 June 2006
15   Russia 26 June 2006
16   Sweden 26 June 2006
17   Guinea-Bissau 29 June 2006
18   Singapore 30 June 2006
19   Turkey 3 July 2006
20    Switzerland 5 July 2006
21   China 6 July 2006
22   Croatia 7 July 2006
23   Austria 12 July 2006
24   Israel 12 July 2006
25   Finland 12 July 2006
26   New Zealand 17 July 2006
27   Lithuania 18 July 2006
28   Malta 19 July 2006
29   Japan 24 July 2006
30   Chile 24 July 2006
31   Slovakia 25 July 2006
32   Belgium 25 July 2006
33   Andorra 28 July 2006
34   Iran 28 July 2006
35   Albania 1 August 2006
  State of Palestine 1 August 2006
36   Bulgaria 2 August 2006
37   India 2 August 2006
38   Vietnam 4 August 2006
39   United States 7 August 2006
40   Belarus 8 August 2006
41   Romania 9 August 2006
42   Poland 14 August 2006
43   Malaysia 17 August 2006
44   Ukraine 22 August 2006
45   Tajikistan 23 August 2006
46   Australia 1 September 2006
47   South Korea 4 September 2006
48   Canada 5 September 2006
  Sovereign Military Order of Malta 5 September 2006
49   Netherlands 8 September 2006
50   Peru 12 September 2006
51   Argentina 13 September 2006
52   Bosnia and Herzegovina 14 September 2006
53   Luxembourg 21 September 2006
54   Iceland 26 September 2006
55   Guatemala 27 September 2006
56   Egypt 27 September 2006
57   South Africa 11 October 2006
58   Brazil 20 October 2006
59   Cuba 20 October 2006
60   Pakistan 23 October 2006
61   Sudan 31 October 2006
62   Armenia 7 November 2006
63   Qatar 16 November 2006
64   Guinea 17 November 2006
65   Myanmar 27 November 2006
66   Mongolia 30 November 2006
67   Spain 12 December 2006
  Holy See 16 December 2006
68   Greece 18 December 2006
69   Uzbekistan 19 December 2006
70   Kazakhstan 16 January 2007
71   Bangladesh 2 March 2007
72   Tunisia 7 March 2007
73   Moldova 9 March 2007
74   Cyprus 12 March 2007
75   Liechtenstein 26 March 2007
76   San Marino 29 March 2007
77   Oman 11 April 2007
78   Portugal 17 May 2007
79   Costa Rica 24 May 2007
80   Mexico 5 June 2007
81   Paraguay 5 June 2007
82   Thailand 6 June 2007
83   North Korea 16 July 2007
84   Algeria 24 September 2007
85   Monaco 17 October 2007
86   Georgia 29 October 2007
87   Eritrea 18 March 2008
88   United Arab Emirates 4 April 2008
89   Azerbaijan 24 April 2008
90   Panama 9 May 2008
91   Syria 30 October 2008
92   Turkmenistan 26 November 2008[3]
93   Lebanon 4 December 2008
94   Uruguay 25 February 2009
95   Dominican Republic 10 March 2009
96   Kyrgyzstan 24 June 2009
97   Morocco 8 September 2009
98   Bahrain 25 September 2009
99   Ecuador 26 September 2009
100   Philippines 26 September 2009
101   Nicaragua 26 September 2009
102   Cambodia 12 October 2009
103   Namibia 16 November 2009
104   Maldives 26 November 2009
105   Angola 21 December 2009
106   Mauritania 21 December 2009
  Kosovo 15 January 2010
107   Brunei 19 January 2010
108   Laos 4 February 2010
109   Suriname 14 May 2010
110   Seychelles 19 May 2010
111   Jordan 19 May 2010
112   Mozambique 27 May 2010
113   Fiji 15 June 2010
114   Zambia 29 June 2010
115   Honduras 8 July 2010
116   Botswana 16 July 2010
117   Kuwait 27 July 2010
118   Afghanistan 21 September 2010
119   Democratic Republic of the Congo 22 September 2010
120   Senegal 22 September 2010
121   Saint Lucia 25 September 2010
122   East Timor 25 September 2010
123   Bolivia 18 October 2010
124   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8 November 2010
125   Jamaica 12 November 2010
126   Zimbabwe 22 November 2010
127   Cape Verde 17 December 2010
128   Solomon Islands 23 December 2010
129   Iraq 29 December 2010
130   Nauru 25 January 2011
131   Samoa 31 January 2011
132   Republic of the Congo 1 February 2011
133   Libya 9 February 2011
134   Comoros 9 February 2011
135   Dominica 25 February 2011
136   Sri Lanka 4 April 2011
137   Antigua and Barbuda 11 April 2011
138   Trinidad and Tobago 15 April 2011
139   Tuvalu 4 May 2011
140   Ethiopia 10 June 2011
141   Uganda 14 July 2011
142     Nepal 18 July 2011
143   Colombia 12 August 2011
144   Benin 15 September 2011
145   Saudi Arabia 16 September 2011
146   Malawi 16 September 2011
147   Guyana 19 September 2011
148   Indonesia 21 September 2011
149   Kenya 6 October 2011
150   Djibouti 6 October 2011
151   South Sudan 21 November 2011
152   Burkina Faso 20 December 2011
153   Mali 10 April 2012
154   Gambia 16 August 2012
155   Burundi 17 August 2012
156   Ghana 20 September 2012
157   Mauritius 26 September 2012
158   Haiti 17 October 2012
159   Saint Kitts and Nevis 19 October 2012
160   Gabon 12 November 2012
161   Togo 21 December 2012
162   Eswatini 28 February 2013
163   Rwanda 12 April 2013
164   Federated States of Micronesia 10 September 2013
165   Lesotho 23 September 2013
166   Palau 25 September 2013
167   Vanuatu 26 September 2013
168   El Salvador 27 September 2013
169   Yemen 28 September 2013
170   Kiribati[4] 17 January 2014
171   Grenada 17 March 2014
172   Liberia 7 April 2014
173   Venezuela 4 September 2014
174   Niger 15 September 2014
175   Sierra Leone[5] 8 October 2014
176   Ivory Coast 29 October 2014
177   Chad 20 March 2015
178   Central African Republic 2 April 2015
179   Bahamas 6 September 2017
180   Belize[6] 6 September 2017
181   Barbados[7] 19 February 2020

Montenegro does not maintain diplomatic relations with the following 11 UN member states:

Africa - 7 UN member states:

Oceania - 3 UN member states:

Asia - 1 UN member state

Canada relations

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Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay wrote to Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahović extending diplomatic recognition and agreeing to hold discussions on the establishment of diplomatic relations, which occurred later in 2007.[8]

The Canadian Embassy in Belgrade is accredited to Montenegro.[8]

China relations

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The establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Montenegro was confirmed on 14 June 2006.

China transformed its consulate into an embassy in Podgorica on July 7, 2006. The Montenegrin embassy in China opened in Beijing on November 13, 2007.

In 2015, total trade between the two countries amounted to 160,385,964 euros.[9]

Russia relations

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Initially strong from 2006, relations slipped from 2010 as Montenegro has looked westward, with Montenegro joining international sanctions in 2014 following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The failed Russian military coup in October 2016 aiming to stop Montenegro seeking NATO membership was a turning point. Despite Russian investment into Montenegro, joining the EU became a key goal of Montenegro.

Russia continues to spy on Montenegro, GRU officer Igor Zaytsev is known to have travelled to Montenegro on numerous occasions up to 2018, bring in encryption equipment to give to existing or potential agents, including allegedly former Foreign Ministry spokesperson Radomir Sekulović.[10]

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drove relationships down further,[11] with five diplomats expelled in March/April 2022 then six more Russian diplomats being expelled from Montenegro for alleged spying, in September, with Russia then closing its consulate in Podgorica.[12]

In August 2023 Montenegro refused to extradite Dmitry Senin, a former Russian FSB Colonel who had fled Russia in 2017 and had been granted asylum.[13]

Turkey relations

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Montenegro established diplomatic relations with Turkey on 3 July 2006.

  • Montenegro maintains an embassy in Ankara and an consulate-general in Istanbul.
  • Turkey maintains an embassy in Podgorica.

Both nations are members of the Council of Europe and NATO. Both countries are candidates for the European Union.

United Kingdom relations

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Embassy of Montenegro in London

Montenegro established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 13 June 2006.[14]

  • Montenegro maintains an embassy in London.[14]
  • The United Kingdom is accredited to Montenegro through its embassy in Podgorica.[15]

Both countries share common membership of the Council of Europe, NATO, OSCE, and the World Trade Organization.

United States relations

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Embassy of Montenegro in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

The United States recognized the Republic of Montenegro on June 12, 2006, being among the first states to do so. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on August 15, and have since rapidly developed. On August 28, six U.S. Senators, John McCain (R-AZ), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Burr (R-NC) and John E. Sununu (R-NH), made an official visit to Montenegro. Their activities included a meeting with President Vujanović and with the speaker of the Montenegrin parliament.[16]

Soon after the congressional visit, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid an official visit to Montenegro, seeking support for the War on Terror and overall American geopolitical goals in Europe.[17] Following the Secretary's meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, it was announced that Montenegro had agreed in principle to aid the US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, although no specific pledges of aid were made.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "JTW News - Kacin: EU will recognize Montenegro on June 12". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  2. ^ "Tabela priznanja i uspostavljanja diplomatskih odnosa". Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Diplomatic Relations Between Montenegro and Turkmenistan as of 26 Nov. 2008". United Nations Digital Library. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Establishment of diplomatic relations between Montenegro and the Republic of Kiribati". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Detalji". Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Belize*: Diplomatic Missions to Montenegro and visa regimes for citizens of Montenegro". gov.me. Government of Montenegro. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Diplomatic Relations Between Barbados and Montenegro as of 19 Feb. 2020". United Nations Digital Library. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b Canada Europe relations
  9. ^ "系统维护_中华人民共和国外交部". www.mfa.gov.cn.
  10. ^ "Montenegro in the GRU activity network". 30 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Russia's Reaction to the Integration Process of the Balkans into the EU: The Case of Montenegro". Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Montenegro expels Russian diplomats amid spying suspicions". 30 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Montenegro Refuses To Extradite Former FSB Colonel To Russia". 30 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Government of Montenegro. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  15. ^ "British Embassy Podgorica". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Six U.S. Senators to Visit Montenegro, August 28, 2006". Archived from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
  17. ^ "Rumsfeld Arrives in Montenegro to Meet With Leaders". U.S. Department of Defence. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  18. ^ Western Balkans Policy Review 2010. Center For Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). 2010. p. 30. ISBN 9780892066025. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
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