Press
Center
Skopje, Macedonia
(Monday, October 23, 2000)
The President of the Republic
of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski, will host an informal summit of Heads
of states and governments from Southeastern Europe on Wednesday, October
25, 2000 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. The one-day gathering will
take place at the Aleksandar Palace Hotel in Skopje beginning at 11:00
am local time. The event is being held under the auspices of the South
East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).
Given the recent events
in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, President Trajkovski made a decision
to invite the Heads of state and government to Macedonia to evaluate
the current situation in Southeastern Europe and to better coordinate
their collective efforts in order to promote and strengthen regional
stability and security. Those in attendance will include President Boris
Trajkovski (Macedonia), President Petar Stojanov (Bulgaria), President
Rexhep Meidani (Albania), Prime Minister Costas Simitis (Greece), Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit (Turkey), President Stipe Mesic (Croatia), Chairman
of the Presidency Zivko Radisic (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and President Vojislav
Kostunic (Yugoslavia). Mr. Bodo Hombach, Stability Pact Special Coordinator
and Mr. Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European
Union will also attend.
At the end of the summit,
the President's will issue the Skopje Statement outlining their beliefs
and priorities for the region and committing them to greater regional
cooperation. The success of that commitment will be assessed at the
regular summit of Heads of state and government of the SEECP to be held
in Skopje in February 2001.
"We have finally achieved
democratic states in every country in Southeastern Europe," stated President
Boris Trajkovski. "It is now vital that, as democratic states, we commit
ourselves to the strengthening of democracy in each state and that we
pledge ourselves to greater regional stability and security. The Republic
of Macedonia is pleased to be able to host this first-ever gathering
of all of the democratically-elected presidents of the region and hope
that this summit will provide the impetus for better cooperation and
the improvement for the lives of all citizens of the region," he continued.
The SEECP was founded
in 1996 at a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria. Original member states include
Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania.
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia are observers. The purpose of the SEECP
is to strengthen relations among the states of Southeastern Europe and
to promote regional stability, security, democracy and economic prosperity.
The heads of state and government meet once per year and the foreign
ministers also meet at least once per year with rotating host countries.
The Republic of Macedonia has taken an active role in the SEECP since
its inception.
A complete press packet,
including schedule, presidential bios and information on the SEECP will
be available at the Aleksandar Palace Press Office. Registration for
press will take place beginning at 8:00 am on Wednesday, October 25
in the Press Office.
Live Video Streaming from
the conference will be broadcasted on Internet starting 16:00 hours.
