Statement

Sonja Perišić Bigović, Head of the Department for Combating Human Trafficking at the Ministry of the Interior, met with Jami J., Deputy Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica. Perišić Bigović expressed gratitude for the support provided by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica to the authorities responsible for combating human trafficking in Montenegro. She emphasized that the Ministry of the Interior is the umbrella institution coordinating activities to implement the national policy on combating human trafficking through the Coordination Body for Monitoring the Implementation of the Strategy for Combating Human Trafficking for 2025–2028. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the recently adopted Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for Montenegro, published annually by the U.S. Department of State to monitor countries’ efforts in this area. Perišić Bigović also expressed satisfaction with this year’s report, which objectively assesses the country’s achievements during the reporting period, noting that it recognized Montenegro’s efforts to fulfill the relevant recommendations while also identifying areas requiring greater effort. The interlocutors agreed that a multidisciplinary approach is essential to combating this phenomenon, to which no country is immune.