International relations

The Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, will meet US Vice-President Joseph Biden during a three-day visit to Washington in March, focusing on the country’s NATO ambitions.

According to the media, Djukanovic and Biden will discuss Montenegro’s aspirations to become a full member of the Atlantic Alliance at the upcoming summit scheduled for September in Wales in the UK.

Romania and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed on a USD 4 B loan to Bucharest.

The credit package deal was struck after President Traian Basescu gave his approval, as Bulgarian website Investor.bg reports.

Basescu has long resisted the agreement as it forces Romania to impose an excise tax for fuels at EUR 0.07 per liter.

Bulgaria ranks first in EU terms of stroke mortality rates, according to the Health Strategy 2014-2020.

Some 160 out of 100,000 Bulgarians die of stroke, compared to the average EU mortality of 51 people, Bulgarian Pressa reports.

TUNIS - There are no open issues between Serbia and Tunisia, but efforts must be made to ensure that the economic cooperation of the two countries is on par with their excellent political relations, which is now not the case, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Wednesday.

Socialist MP Yavor Kuyumdzhiev has assured that electricity prices in Bulgaria will not increase for years.

"Anybody may request an increase in power rates but what matters is what the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) permits, and the demands of power distributors are unrealistic," Kuyumdzhiev said Thursday in an interview for Nova TV.

Arrests aid terrorism fight in Albania

The arrests of five suspects bring a long-desired relief from a terror group's actions.

Albanian officers conduct an anti-terrorism exercise. Security experts have urged the country's law enforcement agencies to work jointly to prevent acts of terrorism. [AFP]

BELGRADE - Serbian Defence Minister Nebojsa Rodic conferred with Indonesian Ambassador in Serbia Samuel Samson on Tuesday and expressed gratitude for Indonesia's principled support to the fight for protection Serbia's legitimate interests over the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

IMF to help Albania make reforms

A loan from the IMF will help Albania undertake economic reforms. Also in business news: Turkey wants to increase its 20 percent stake in the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline project to 30 percent by April.

The pension system in Albania will be reformed with the help of an IMF loan. [AFP]

COPENHAGEN - Parliamentarians of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will arrive in Serbia next week to take part in an observation mission to the parliamentary elections on March 16.

THE HAGUE - Croatian legal representatives argued before the International Court of Justice in The Hague Tuesday that Serbia had planned and had a clear intention to destroy Croat communities across Croatia during the 1991-95 war on the territory of that country.