U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic in Podgorica, Montenegro, October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic

PODGORICA (Reuters) - The United States and Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, are finalizing their biggest bilateral arms deal, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

“The US looks forward to delivering $36 million worth of light tactical vehicles to our NATO ally once this agreement is finalised,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo is on a short trip to Montenegro and North Macedonia, which is in the process of joining the Atlantic alliance.

He commended intelligence cooperation with Montenegro, through which “we’ve been able to develop a patch against the latest Russian malware that now protects millions of devices worldwide.”