North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, who is paying an official visit to Montenegro met Friday with his counterpart Đorđe Radulović.

Osmani and Radulović during the talks reaffirmed close and friendly bilateral relations between two countries and discussed ways to improve economic cooperation by finding new means to enrich trade exchange, tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

“It is always good to be among friends, visiting a friendly country, and North Macedonia and Montenegro are a good example of this. I consider today’s visit to Montenegro important, both for our bilateral relations, which are excellent, and for the entire region, which is still facing serious challenges, especially for its European future,” Osmani said.

Besides the bilateral relations, Osmani and Radulović also discussed the cooperation within the NATO allies as well as completing the European membership perspective of the two countries. “There is no alternative to the EU enlargement process or uniting the European continent into one alliance. The question is not “if”, but “how” and “when” will Western Balkan countries join the EU,” Osmani said.

While in Podgorica, Osmani is set to meet with other top Montenegrin officials, including President Milo Đukanović, Parliament Speaker Aleksa Bečić, Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić and Deputy PM Dritan Abazović.