Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani at a news conference Monday – his first in 2021 – presented two foreign policy initiatives, namely Initiative 8 and the Prespa Forum for Dialogue, which are set to become North Macedonia’s foreign policy brand.
On Sunday, Osmani sent a letter to his counterparts from Bulgaria and Albania, Ekaterina Zaharieva and Olta Xhacka respectively, to put forward a trilateral initiative called “Initiative 8”.
According to him, the initiative aims at strengthening political, economic, security, social and cultural cooperation between the three countries on the East-West axis, also seen as an upgrade to the efforts for building Corridor 8, connecting Black Sea with Adriatic Sea.
“It corresponds with my priorities as foreign minister, which include good neighborly relations and regional cooperation,” Osmani told the news conference.
He also in-depth presented the Prespa Forum for Dialogue initiative. Originally presented in July 2020, it is designed to become a political brand of the country recognized worldwide.
“The Prespa Forum for Dialogue is a platform designed to protect, promote and channel the benefits and significance of the three political agreements – the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria, and the Prespa Agreement. Although burdened by numerous challenges, they remain an authentic framework for addressing open issues, through which differences can be discussed and provides ways for finding compromises and solutions in a decent manner,” said Osmani.
The political significance of the three agreements, he noted, offers opportunities and a duty to open intellectual and political debate that could result in ideas, practical solutions and clear answers to open issues having regional and global character.
“It is our authentic contribution to security, stability and political cooperation in the region,” Minister Osmani said.
As part of the Prespa Forum for Dialogue, small events will be organized throughout the year, which will result in a large annual event, namely an international conference that will bring together high-ranking officials, including heads of state or government, politicians and top diplomats from the region, etc.
“Under a government decision, the Foreign Ministry has been tasked with implementing the Prespa Forum for Dialogue initiative. Preparations have been already made for holding the first conference in June 2021 in Ohrid, which coincides with the signing of the Prespa Agreement. As conditions would allow for a multimedia center to be built in Prespa, this brand of our foreign policy will be fostered in Prespa,” Minister Osmani told reporters.
