(VOVworld) – The foreign ministers of 28 NATO members and Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic signed an accession protocol with Montenegro at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, and Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic, left, take their seats during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council and Montenegro at NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 19, 2016 (Photo: VOA)

The signing, which coincides with the 10^th anniversary of Montenegro’s Independence Day, is a precondition for Montenegro to become the 29^th NATO member, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He added that Montenegro needs to effect more reforms to become a full NATO member.

It will take 18 months for all NATO members to ratify Montenegro’s membership.