The document states that an "independent state is a precondition for citizens to decide about themselves and their future, that it is a guarantee of economic prosperity founded on the respect and protection of ownership rights and free enterprise as well as of the realisation of the principle of the rule of law and of a swifter inclusion of Montenegro into European and Euro-Atlantic integration".
The starting point for forwarding the declaration was the unanimously adopted decision on the calling of a referendum on Montenegro's legal status, it was said.
"Montenegro's strategic interest remains membership of the European Union and NATO. It will be achieved through consistent realisation of all standards on the political, economic and security fronts, which are prerequisites for European and Euro-Atlantic integration," the Declaration reads.
As an independent state Montenegro will continue its friendly and close cooperation with Serbia, and in the realisation of that goal it will have an open border with Serbia so as to provide for a free flow of people, goods, services and capital, without administrative obstacles, the document said.
Continuing with tradition and affirming itself as a multiethnic, multireligious and multicultural community, Montenegro will also provide for a consistent realisation and protection of minority rights and freedoms in accordance with the highest international standards.