Ivanović meets with U.S. House of Representatives Member Claudia Tenney: Strengthening Montenegro-U.S. strategic partnership through economic and security cooperation

Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Filip Ivanović met today with Claudia Tenney, a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, with whom he discussed bilateral relations between Montenegro and the United States, security in the Western Balkans, economic relations and opportunities to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Ivanović expressed satisfaction with the continued communication with the U.S. Congress and stressed that the United States is a strategic partner, friend and ally of Montenegro, particularly in light of the two countries’ alliance within NATO, as well as longstanding U.S. support for Montenegro’s democratic and economic development.

The United States is an indispensable strategic and political partner for Montenegro. We want to further strengthen our relations and expand our strong political and security partnership through concrete economic cooperation, investment and joint projects, Ivanović said.

Tenney highlighted the importance of continued U.S. engagement in the Western Balkans, noting that a stable, secure and economically prosperous region is in the shared interest of Montenegro, the wider region and the United States. She described Montenegro as a reliable partner of the United States and expressed her readiness to continue the dialogue and further enhance cooperation between the two countries.

The discussion also focused on economic relations and opportunities to increase the presence of U.S. companies in Montenegro. Ivanović presented opportunities for new U.S. investment, particularly in the energy, infrastructure, tourism and digital sectors, stressing Montenegro’s readiness to further improve the business environment and create opportunities for concrete projects. As an important framework for such cooperation, Ivanović highlighted the Montenegro-U.S. Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation for the Implementation of Strategic Projects (G2G), signed on 24 July and which entered into force on 13 August 2026.

He also highlighted that the first two projects have already been put forward – the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor and the National Serviced Integrated Cargo Scanning and Border Control Modernization Project – marking the transition of the Agreement into the phase of concrete implementation.

Tenney supported the need to further translate the existing relations into concrete economic projects and a stronger presence of U.S. businesses in Montenegro, stressing the importance of creating new opportunities for cooperation and investment.

The discussion also covered the FLEX programme, whose importance was highlighted in the context of connecting young people from Montenegro and the United States and strengthening mutual understanding. Since 2005, 269 Montenegrin students have participated in the programme. Montenegro expressed its readiness to consider the possibility of co-financing the programme in order to enable Montenegrin secondary school students to participate again.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the interlocutors noted that relations between Montenegro and the United States are built on strong foundations of alliance and partnership. In this context, they particularly highlighted the importance of continuing political dialogue and cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries.