The president of the Atlas Group dr Dusko Knezevic is one of the laureates of this year's Awards for Leadership of the Mediterranean (SAIS Mediterranean Leadership Award), acknowledgements that are given to influential political, business and academic leaders of the Mediterranean countries and the United States.

This award is issued by the Center for Transatlantic Relations, which operates within the Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
The Center for Transatlantic Relations in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce is the co-organizer of the annual Transatlantic Forum on 5 and 6 December in Washington.
At this meeting, Dr. Knezevic who will participate at the award ceremony will represent Montenegro at the panel dedicated to the Western Balkans, the statement said.
Among the participants of the forum in Washington are the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Sarovic, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fadil Novalic, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Zeljko Cvijanovic, as well as representatives of the business community in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Turkey and the Western Balkans .
Participants, the senior legal officers of the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations are Michael Haltzel, a former adviser to the current US Vice President Joe Biden, Edward Joseph, a former adviser to Senator Benjamin Cardin, Hans Binnendijk, vice president of Development Center at National University of Defense in Washington, DC, and Sasha Toperic, Director of the "Mediterranean Basin Project” at the Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS as well as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, James Townsend, who is also a graduate of the University SAIS, Washington.
The conference will be opened by Mujo Selimovic, the newly appointed president of the Business Advisory Board of the SAIS Center, who took over this function from Slim Othmani, a prominent businessman from Algeria.
Beside dr. Knezevic this prestigious award will be given to Ali Haddad, one of the most influential businessmen in Algeria, Andre Azoulaja, counselors King of Morocco Hisham Fahmi, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Elijah November, a successful international businessman of BiH origin and Husni Bey, an owner of the largest business holding in Libya.
The president of Atlas Group will receive this prestigious award because of social engagement through education and philanthropy, contribution to the strengthening of positive trends of interdependence in the Western Balkans, as well as for promoting of transatlantic values through cooperation in the region. Among previous laureates of SAIS Mediterranean Leadership Award are also the former presidents of Tunisia and Libya, as well as senators and congressmen from the United States.
The Center for Transatlantic Relations brings together international experts, students, representatives of governments, parliamentarians, journalists, businessmen and other leaders to jointly discuss the contemporary challenges faced by Europe and North America. The goal of the Center is to strengthen and adapt the transatlantic relationship dynamics of a globalized world.
The Center is an integral part of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), one of America's leading academic institutions in the sphere of international relations.