Address
of the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia,
H.E. Mr. Ljubco Georgievski
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished guests,
Allow me first of all
to welcome all the participants of this significant event and to wish
you all successful and fruitful work.
In the recent few weeks, the Republic of Macedonia has, unfortunately,
been facing an aggression on the part of Albanian extremist groups,
seriously endangering its sovereignty and territorial integrity- nut
also the peace, stability and security of the Balkans and Europe.
In this critical time, when the Southeastern Europe region is again
facing violence, terrorism, extremism and ethnic intolerance, the significance
of regional initiatives and, within those frames, of the Southeastern
Europe Cooperation Process, has been increasing. Today's event undoubtedly
reaffirms the role of strengthened dialogue among the selected representatives
of our nations and represents as such another confirmation of our firm
commitment to the promoting of peace and stability within this unstable
region.
The Republic of Macedonia has been paying special importance to the
development of both bilateral and regional cooperation and has been
actively advocating its further improving. Starting with its wish to
be the promoter of stability, security and cooperation within Southeastern
Europe, the Republic of Macedonia has been attaching special importance
to the Process which is turning to be the leading initiative of regional
cooperation. The Southeastern Europe Cooperation Process should be providing
strong political encouragement to the States of our region to increase
cooperation, not only among Governments, but also among all other sectors
of the society, being as such a main prerequisite to the development
of good-neighbourly relations and to the strengthening of peace, security
and stability in the Region. The Process has proven the ability of our
countries to exchange views, lead an open dialogue on issues of significance
to the whole region and deal with issues occurring. Results achieved
in the recent period provide a basis to great optimism that the Process
will in the period to come as well confirm its role as a factor to contribute
to the strengthening of good-neighbourly relations and cooperation within
Southeastern Europe.
Allow me to use this opportunity and express my satisfaction with the
activities having been taken within this initiative at the time of the
Republic of Macedonia's presidency of the Process. Several meetings
were held in the Republic of Macedonia within the frames of the Process
including the following: the Ohrid meeting of the Foreign Ministers
of the Process; the two Skopje summits of the heads of state and of
governments of the Process Member States, and the Skopje meeting of
the ministers in charge of youth of Southeastern Europe countries. At
these meetings, the commitment was being reaffirmed of Southeastern
Europe countries towards the strengthening of good-neighbourly relations,
stability, security and cooperation in the region. These common commitments
of ours were also confirmed as such on the recent Summit of the Process
held in Skopje the previous month, when full support was given to cooperation
within the Initiative. The Southeastern Europe Cooperation Process has
undoubtedly been giving its contribution to the strengthening of cohesion,
security and stability in the Region and in Europe, as well as to the
strengthening of European integration processes. With the adoption of
the Regional Economic Cooperation Action Plan at the Skopje Summit,
Southeastern Europe countries confirmed their commitment towards mutual
functional interlinking, to be contributing to the promotion of economic
cooperation in Southeastern Europe and will pave the way to further
economic development being as such a major precondition to the rapid
and successful integration to European and Euroatlantic structures.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the current moment, when Southeastern Europe is again facing another
crisis, being a consequence of recent actions on the part of Albanian
extremist terrorist groups, bringing again to the surface the greater
state projects in the Balkans- even greater is the importance of all
forms of regional interlinkage and cooperation.
I would like to stress that the Republic of Macedonia will decisively
deal all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism and will not allow
the endangering of the basic values and principles upon which our State
lies. I can assure you that we shall use all our forces to fight and
preserve democracy, economic prosperity, civil society development,
the rule of law, the respect for human rights and the rights of national
minorities, and shall not allow that these civilization gains be brought
into question at all.
The maintaining of peace and stability today, even more than ever before,
highlights the need of finding out new approaches to generate firm democratic
structures to be the basis of cooperation and constructive politics,
but also to dialogue among the States in the region. Integration processes
in Europe have been imposing the need that our States orient themselves
towards a policy to be directed to abandoning stereotypes inherited
and leaving behind the negative legacy of religious and ethnic prejudices.
The European aspirations of our countries may only be realized if our
countries are to declare themselves in favour of a policy to be directed
towards the cultivating of a new civil and democratic environment in
which mutual links and cooperation will flourish, both among States
and among societies, various groups and the nations of Southeastern
Europe.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to emphasize that our Parliaments have an especially important
role to play in the implementation of the Southeastern Europe Cooperation
Process. After all, they are the ones to adopt the legislation on political
and economic reforms, on human freedoms and rights, on international
cooperation and the like. One should bear in mind the fact that there
is a huge task placed in front of the parliaments of most of the countries
of the region- regarding the harmonization of their national legislation
to the European one; their work will greatly determine the pace of the
approximation and joining of the countries of our region to European
and Euroatlantic integration processes. This all leads to the conclusion
that there is a need of further strengthening of cooperation among our
parliaments.
I am glad to highlight that the Cooperation Process has been increasingly
affirming itself as a very successful basis to the stabilization and
democratic development in the region- but also to the further prosperity
of our countries and to the better life of our citizens. Regional cooperation
has had a special meaning to the strengthening of peace, stability,
security and cooperation in the Region, to the respecting of human rights
and of the rights of national minorities, to the promotion of the civil
society, to the civil State strengthening, to the enacting of market
economy, to the elimination of organized crime, to the preventing of
drug and women trafficking etc..
At the end, allow me to once again wish you successful and fruitful
work. I believe that the present meeting will contribute to the further
strengthening of cooperation in the Southeastern Europe region- to the
interest of all our nations.
Thank you for your attention.
