North Macedonia’s European integration and regional developments were in the focus of a meeting of Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani with Spanish counterpart Arancha González Laya in Madrid on Thursday.
“It is nice to be in Madrid on the first anniversary from the Spanish Senate’s ratification of North Macedonia’s NATO Accession Protocol in almost impossible circumstances. That act completed the Protocol’s ratification by all 29 member-states, making North Macedonia the Alliance’s 30th member. Through this act and the extraordinary effort, and by the precedent of voting via video-conference, your country will always have a special place in the hearts of our citizens and you can count on North Macedonia as a close friend,” said FM Osmani.
The FM added that he would meet his Spanish colleague again in Brussels next week, at a NATO ministerial meeting.
“Serious talks and important decisions about the Alliance’s future lie ahead, related to contemporary challenges, primarily about the NATO 2030 process,” noted Osmani.
Interlocutors discussed North Macedonia’s European integration and regional developments.
“Our EU unity is also facing serious challenges and need for responsible and right decisions. One of those decisions is the green light of the EU member-states for the start of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations of last March,” said Osmani and highlighted the importance of its implementation for the country and the region.
Osmani and González Laya signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the countries’ ministries of foreign affairs on mutual cooperation of diplomatic academies and education, as a further step in the enhancement of mutual cooperation.
FM Osmani also met with Antonio Gutierrez Limones, Chairperson of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, discussing North Macedonia’s European integration, goodneighborly policies, domestic developments, regional cooperation and other international issues of current interest.
Earlier in the day, Osmani met with Maria Aurora Mejía Errasquín, EU Director and foreign policy aide to PM Pedro Sánchez, to discuss North Macedonia’s European dossier and Madrid’s support to the country’s EU integration efforts.
In addition, FM Osmani met with World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism field, as well as plans on getting the sector back to normal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
