After a NATO summit in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis will pay an official visit to Croatia and attend, together with Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic, a special meeting of the defence ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter countries in Zagreb, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

On the occasion of the U.S. official’s visit, Minister Krsticevic and his Montenegrin counterpart Predrag Boskovic will co-chair a meeting of the defence ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter countries, to be held on July 13, the ministry said.

The US-Adriatic Charter ministers are expected to discuss the stronger presence of the United States in Southeast Europe, steps that need to be taken to facilitate the integration of remaining aspirant countries with NATO, the security situation in Southeast Europe and a more equitable distribution of the burden of defence spending between the USA and Europe.

The US-Adriatic Charter is a partner regional initiative launched in 2003 by Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and the United States. In 2008 it was joined by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The initiative’s main mission is to provide support to Euro-Atlantic integration processes in Southeast Europe and enable all aspirant countries to join NATO as soon as possible.