The prime minister of Montenegro signed an agreement to recognize the Jewish community as an official minority in the country.

Prime Minister Igor Lukšić signed the agreement Feb. 2 during an official ceremony held with representatives of the Montenegro Jewish community, including president of the community Yasha Alfandri and Albanian Chief Rabbi Yoel Kaplan.

The agreement also concerns issues of property and education.

The official recognition comes after a delegation from the Rabbinical Center of Europe  and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger met with the prime minister to discuss the issue.

“There is no doubt that this is an historic day and an important milestone for the future of Montenegro Jewry,” Lukšić said.

Kaplan reportedly sent a group of yeshiva students to Montenegro to celebrate a Pesach Seder last year, becoming the start of the revival of Jewish life in Montenegro.

Montenegro formerly had three officially recognized religions: Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam.

There are about 1,000 Jews in Montenegro.

“Creating a Jewish communal structure in Montenegro is a great challenge but a vital one,” said Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, deputy director of the Rabbinical Center of Europe. “There is a thirst for being part of a wider Jewish community, not just in their own country, but being connected to the European Jewish community.”