Montenegro was granted a full-fledged membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a Ministerial Conference in Geneva on Saturday.

The accession agreement was signed by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic, whereby Montenegro became the 156th member of the global economic system, which covers 97 percent of the world trade.

According to a statement from Podgorica, Lamy and Luksic assessed that WTO membership represents one of the crucial steps in Montenegro's integration into modern international economic flows.

Montenegro submitted the request for WTO membership in 2004.