Macedonian diplomatic bulletin No. 53

8/3/2019 Macedonian diplomatic bulletin No. 53

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No. 53 / 2011

The celebration commenced outside the Parliament of the

republic of Macedonia where Parliament Speaker TrajkoVeljanoski handed the Declaration of Independence of

1991 to the Guard of the Republic of Macedonia.

INSIDE: INTERVIEW WITH

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, H.E. MR. NIKOLA POPOSKI

MACEDONIA CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE


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No. 53 (September - October 2011)

MACEDONIANDIPLOMATICBULLETIN

Founded by the MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS of the Republic of Macedonia.

Dame Gruev 6, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia / www.mfa.gov.mk [email protected]

Previous editors: Pajo Avirovik, October 2006-April 2008; Zvonimir Popovik, May 2008-January 2010

Editor:Vladimir Efremovski

Editorial Board: Agneza Rusi; Lina Ognenova;Zuko Rizvanski; Shaban Jashari;

Aleksandar Trajkoski; Katerina Stavreska;Eli Bojadjieska Ristovski; Edvard Mitevski;Maciej Kaczorowski; Elena Georgievska;Mircela Dzuvalekovska Casule

Photo: Dragan Todorovski

Published monthly by:

MACEDONIAN INFORMATION CENTRE

Director: Dragan Antonov

Chief Translator:Aleksandra Ilievska

Address: Naum Naumovski Borce 73,1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedoniawww.micnews.com.mk

EDITORIAL

DIPLOMATIC NEWS

PRESIDENT IVANOV DECORATEDe President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, was deco-rated with the highest order of the Military and Hospitaller Order ofSaint Lazarus of Jerusalem. He received the order from Don CarlosGereda y de Borbon, a representative of the Order of Saint Lazarus.

President Ivanov

extended gratitudesaying he consid-ered the act as a greathonor. Macedoniais an ancient countrydedicated to God inwhich true values arenurtured, he added.

e Order of SaintLazarus is one of theoldest orders in Chris-tianity whose members include heads of state and government, royalfamilies, and intellectuals from around the world.

MACEDONIAN DIPLOMATIC BULLETIN No. 53 20112

MACEDONIA IS EUROPE, EUROPE ISMACEDONIAAll nations and countries have their own big, historic datesand events. ey shape the peoples awareness and project theroads we take. ey are also a monument to the bygone timesand the largest reminder of the responsibility the nations bearlooking to the future. e beginning and end of all of them

are the homeland and the people!In the past century Macedonia had three such dates: therst in the beginning, the second in the middle and the thirdin the end of the 20th century.

Ilinden 1903, ASNOM 1944 and 8 September 1991 are themilestones on our path toward freedom. ese pinnacles arepart of our history written with our name and honor! e thirdIlinden, 8 September, is the last in the series of glimmeringevents in the Macedonian national consciousness and self-sacrice when the people of Macedonia decided in a historicreferendum that their country should be constituted as sovereignand independent. is day is only one in the series of stepstaken to complete the Macedonian statehood. ree declarations

marked the historic 1991. Immediately aer the constitutionof the rst democratic Parliament, this institution passed theDeclaration of Sovereignty on 25 January. On 17 September,right aer the successfully held 8 September referendum, theDeclaration of Independence passed Parliament. And nally,upon adopting the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia,Parliament passed the Declaration of International Recognitionof the Republic of Macedonia on 25 December. ese are thedocuments with which the foundations of independent anddemocratic Republic of Macedonia were laid.

e citizens, as stated in the Declarations, turned a newpage in the Macedonian centuries-long history to complete

their independence and sovereignty. At the same time, theyemphasized our countrys vital interest in embarking on theprocess of European integration. Arguing for honoring territo-rial integrity and sovereignty, Macedonia called for peacefulresolution of problems by way of negotiations and based onmutual respect.

In short, the Declarations projected Macedonia as a modernand democratic country, which aer freeing itself from therepression of Communism and fake Yugoslav loyalty, took theroad of political pluralism and market economy!

Over the past 20 years, we have achieved a lot! We haveclimbed up high peaks! We have resolved many pivotal issues,some successfully, others less so. We have overcome manyhurdles. We have faced many challenges when resolute stepshad to be taken. As a result of that policy of the founding-fathers of our sovereignty, Macedonia has joined nearly allimportant international organizations. Macedonia has alsobecome a respected partner cooperating with many countriesin the world.

Twenty years aer the historic 8 September, we have comeup against major challenges again. Today, when our fate doesnot depend on anyone else but ourselves, we bear ever greaterresponsibility and have even greater expectations! I am con-dent that we are going to overcome all challenges and hardship.We have to complete our European integration. Macedonia

is Europe and Europe is Macedonia! Naturally, we belongto the European family in the best sense of the word. It is inour best interest to implement the European standards andround o our reform. Our indisputable priority is adaptingthe Macedonian economy to be even more competitive in the

European markets. Finally, our unquestionable commitment remainspromoting interethnic relations and understanding.

Memorable historic victories happen to the brave and united. Wehave been handed down a testament from the generations of heroes,revolutionaries and authors before us, who have committed the fruitof their work to the cornerstone of free Macedonia, to never againwork against one another and make historic mistakes. e remarkableevents and victories in our history are a shared pledge and sacrice.

ey are a monument for all our citizens, ethnic communities andpolitical options. In the spirit of the motto marking this key historicevent, I would like to once again appeal for unity, reconciliation anddedication to the accomplishment of Macedonias key strategic goals.erefore, on behalf of the future generations and the testament of allthose who sacriced their lives for modern Macedonia, let us makeour biblical land even more worthy of their sacrice, more enduringthan they hoped for, and more beautiful than they dreamed of. Finally,let me congratulate the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia whotook responsibility in the referendum for our independence in greatnumbers and with high consciousness. Happy Independence Day!God bless the Republic of Macedonia!

Macedonian Parliament Speaker Trajko VELJANOSKIS addresson the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Macedonias independence


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TURKISH PM ERDOAN VISITS MACEDONIA

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan paid an ocialvisit to the Republic of Macedonia on 29-30 September. Apart formeeting his host, Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski, he also met

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov and Parliament Speaker TrajkoVeljanoski. e positive development of relations and cooperationbetween the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Turkeywas conrmed during the meetings, and opinions were also sharedon a number of issues important for the promotion of the bilateralcooperation, especially the economic one.

Emphasizing the importance of the Turkish direct investmentsin the Republic of Macedonia, the ocials pointed out the interestand possibilities for their increase, underlining also the untappedpotential for raising trade between Macedonia and Turkey. eTurkish prime minister reiterated once again the support that theRepublic of Turkey gives and will continue giving Macedonia asfar as the use of its constitutional name is concerned.

At the end of his stay in Macedonia, PM Erdoan visited Tetovoand Gostivar, meeting representatives of the local Turkish com-munity.

FM NIKOLA POPOSKI VISITS SERBIAAt the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Aairs of the Republic ofSerbia, Vuk Jeremi, the Minister of Foreign Aairs of the Republic

of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, paid his rst ocial one-day visitto the Republic of Serbia on 13 September. Apart from meeting hisSerbian counterpart, Minister Poposki also met Parliament SpeakerSlavica uki-Dejanovi, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovi andParliamentary Foreign Aairs Committee Chairman DragoljubMiunovi.

e Macedonian and Serbian ocials said they were pleasedwith the positive development of the bilateral relations and the com-mitment to their further promotion in all areas of shared interest,particularly in the area of economic cooperation. e Europeanintegration process and the cooperation in this regard, as well as thecultural cooperation and the interest in signing an agreement onprotection of cultural values in both countries were also discussed.

During this visit, Minister Poposki also met representatives of

the Macedonian community in the Republic of Serbia.EU COMMISSIONER FLE PAYS OFFICIAL VISITTO MACEDONIA

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 10th anniversary ofthe Framework Agreement and the 20th anniversary of Macedoniasindependence, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and EuropeanNeighborhood Policy tefan Fle paid a one-day ocial visit to theRepublic of Macedonia on 5 September. He was the honorary guestof and participant in the Conference Decentralization and Multi-culturalism in Macedonia, as part of the series of events markingthe jubilee. In his address at the Conference, Commissioner Fledeemed the Ohrid Framework Agreement as a positive examplethat should show the world how leaders can overcome dierencesand reach a compromise in the interest of their countries future.

Commissioner Fle met with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevskiand also had separate meetings with Deputy Prime Minister forFramework Agreement Musa Xhaferi and Deputy Prime Ministerfor European Aairs Teuta Ari. eir talks focused on meetingthe priorities of the European agenda of the Republic of Macedoniaand the future reforms in the run-up to the release of the European

Commission report on Macedonias progress 2011. e importanceof continuing the European integration process and opening talksfor full-edged membership of the EU, as a strategic commitmentof the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, was conrmedonce again.

RICHARD HOWITT IN MACEDONIADuring his visit to Macedonia on 18-20 September, the rapporteuron Macedonia in the European Parliament, Richard Howitt, saidhe was condent that this year too Macedonia would be given arecommendation for opening EU membership negotiations, pri-marily because of the progress achieved in conducting reforms and

the successfully held early parliamentary elections. According toHowitt, more progress is needed in reforming the public admin-istration, the freedom of media and ghting corruption. Duringhis visit, Mr. Howitt met high representatives of the Governmentand Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia.

No. 53 2011 MACEDONIAN DIPLOMATIC BULLETIN 3


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Minister Poposki, once again let us congratulate you on yourelection to this important and highly responsible oce. Youhave been Minister o Foreign Aairs or a ew months but youwere amiliar with the Ministry o Foreign Aairs when you tookoce. You had been Ambassador o the Republic o Macedonia

to the EU. Nevertheless, whatare your initial impressions?

How do you see the Ministryon Dame Gruev 6 Street rom

your current standpoint?While serving as ambassa-

dor, I had the opportunity toconclude that in the Ministry ofForeign Aairs there are capableprofessionals who love their jobs.at is a key prerequisite so wecan hope for progress. Now, asminister, my responsibility, of course, is to establish how we canpromote the diplomatic service continuously. One of the rst thingsone can spot on Dame Gruev 6 St is that there is not enough roomfor all the sta. I hope we are soon going to overcome this problemonce we move to the new building on Kej Dimitar Vlahov bb.

From what I can hear from the sta, making sure the work isbetter organized and the institutional memory is upgraded is par-ticularly signicant. is is especially important for the youngergenerations of diplomats. We have to provide conditions so theycan be motivated and can progress. Frankly, there are not enoughinstruments for positive motivation. At the MFA, it all comesdown to the prospect of one being appointed to an embassy or aconsulate. Considering the challenges the Republic of Macedoniafaces, as far as its foreign policy goes, I believe that the MFA hasto give precedence to the professionalism and quality of its sta.

In that way, we practically conrm that we are representatives of afuture member state of NATO and the EU.

You paid your frst visits to the neighboring countries. e im-portance Macedonia attributes to the relations and cooperation

WE DEMONSTRATE MACEDONIA IS FUTURE NATO AND EU MEMBERSTATE WITH PROFESSIONALISM AND QUALITY

Our message to

our neighbors is thatwe have numerousreasons to act together

and we must haveto intensify projects

of shared interest.


Interview with the Minister o Foreign Afairs, H.E. Mr. Nikola Poposki

European Challenges of the Western Balkans.


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with these countries is obvious. However, we would very muchappreciate i you told us what the oreign policy priorities are inthe period to come. Has anything changed? How do you see theregional cooperation? What are the goals o our oreign policy?

I oen say that we must ght hard the stereotypes related toour region. e perception is that the countries, peoples or com-munities of the Balkans are more prone to conicts than the restof the continent. ere are probably a number of reasons for that.However, in reality, in this territory there are many more bindingelements. e interests of the region today converge toward NATOand the EU.

How successful we are in the implementation of this project, inview of the debt crisis and the global challenges, depends also onour capacity to cooperate. Being centrally positioned in the Bal-kans and landlocked, Macedonias strategic interest is to maintaingood relations with all its neighbors, directly and indirectly, thus

promoting the ties that are natural to Macedonia, whether relat-ing to infrastructure, commerce, energy or security. Since ancienttimes, it has been indisputably true that without good connectionsyou cannot prosper. is is perhaps ever more relevant today. Ourmessage to our neighbors is that we have numerous reasons to acttogether and we must have to intensify projects of shared interest.With that approach, we are nearing our goal of safe, integrated andeconomically prosperous Republic of Macedonia. at is, in fact,

what our regional policy focuses on.As for the priorities, they reect the massive support that theMacedonian citizens give to Macedonias bid for joining NATOand the EU. Our actions are aiming exactly in that direction. Weare highly committed to keeping the credibility of that process.

Can we expect a date or opening EU membership negotiationssoon?

e European Commission has recommended it three times.We were, in fact, blocked twice. e negotiations are merely afollow-up to the eort for harmonization with the European legis-lation. However, the discontinuation of the process challenges thecredibility of the entire system. All those who are truly dedicatedto the promotion of the European project for peace and economicprosperity will have an excellent opportunity to conrm theirdedication later this year.

What are our positions as regards NATO?Our attitude has long been as though we are de facto a NATO

member state. Macedonias contribution to providing securityand training in Afghanistan illustrates it best. We have long beenfullling the responsibilities arising from a full-edged member-ship. Unfortunately, we have not yet beneted from it because ofthe Greek resistance. at approach is doing harm to the interestsnot only of the Republic of Macedonia but also of the region and

the Alliance itself. It is also in contravention to the Interim Accord,which made us le the application before the International Courtof Justice in e Hague. In any case, we remain fully committed toattaining our strategic objective that will surely contribute to saferand more prosperous Balkans.


Visit to NATO HQ.

Visit of EU journalists to Macedonia.


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With a series of events, the Republic of Macedonia celebrated on8 September the 20th anniversary of the successfully conductedreferendum in which an overwhelming majority of the Macedo-

nian citizens, or more than 95 percent, voted for independentand sovereign Macedonia. e referendum of 8 September 1991was preceded by a Declaration of Independence that the rstdemocratic Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia adopted on25 January 1991. Formally the peoples will for independence wasconrmed by a Declaration on acceptance of the referendum resultsof 18 September 1991 passed in the Parliament of the Republic ofMacedonia. e next important step in strengthening the countrywas the adoption of the new Constitution on 17 November 1991.

e 20th anniversary of the proclamation of Macedonias inde-pendence was celebrated in Skopje under the slogan 20 Years ofIndependent Macedonia Together Under One Sun. e program

that illustrated the past, the present and the future and presentedthe national characteristics and artistic capacity of the country,had a cosmopolitan dimension and a mission to unite all peopleregardless of their aliations. e celebration commenced outsidethe Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia where ParliamentSpeaker Trajko Veljanoski handed the Declaration of Independ-ence of 1991 to the Guard of the Republic of Macedonia. In hisceremonial address, Speaker Veljanoski reiterated the commitmentto and appeal for unication, reconciliation and dedication to ac-complishing Macedonias key strategic goals. e declaration wascarried under the Macedonia Triumphal Arch and over the StoneBridge, to new Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. First to passunder the Triumphal Arch were a thousand children symbolizingthe future of the country. e Declaration was taken inside theMuseum by the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge

Ivanov. He stressed in his address that the wishes of our ancestorsand revolutionaries became true and that he deposited the citizensfreely expressed will, conveyed by those who voted through the

Declaration of Independence, in the Museum as a symbol of thedesires and craving of those who fought for it.

e fullled oath came to those having died for independentMacedonia. ings have fallen into place. May Macedonia liveforever, President Ivanov stressed. With the theater oratorio Strug-gle outside the Museum scenes from the past were recreated byactors from all Macedonian theaters, while the Army paid respectto all perished heroes by ring honorary salutes. At the same time,actors in costumes from the period in which the historic gureslived (from Justinian I to Metodija Andonov Cento) stood by themonuments in the Macedonia Square. On the 40-meter stage in thesquare, the celebration reached its culmination with the perform-

ance spectacle Makedonium in which over 300 artists took part.Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said in his addressthat although small by territory our country has foundations as bigas any European country and that those foundations encapsulate thebravery, resolve and sacrice of generations that gave their countryeverything they had. Emphasizing that our future depends only onus and that independence and sovereignty which we bow to today isa great civilization right that we acquired, Prime Minister Gruevskiappealed to all to accept national unication in the defense of thecivilization and natural right to a name and identity.

e Constitution will not change with the aim of changing theconstitutional name Republic of Macedonia. We are not going toaccept ideas and proposals that would threaten the Macedoniannational identity, and the distinction of the Macedonian nation andlanguage, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said.

MACEDONIA CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE



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Within the framework of the celebration of the 20th anniversaryof the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, a one-dayConference 20 Years of Independent Republic of Macedonia Achievements and Perspectives of the Modern Macedonian Statewas organized by the Ministry of Foreign Aairs in Skopje on 9September under the motto Together Under One Sun.

At the opening of the Conference, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevskiaddressed the participants saying the Macedonian independencewas a patriotic achievement and expressing hope that the follow-ing 20 years would be years of development and progress for theRepublic of Macedonia. In the capacity of a host, Foreign MinisterNikola Poposki addressed the Conference as well, highlighting theaccomplishments of the Macedonian diplomacy in the past 20 years.Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski addressed the guests too.

e conference participants included also British AmbassadorChristopher Yvon, Turkish Ambassador Grol Skmenser, MEPAlojz Peterle and Dr. Srgjan Kerim, former Minister of ForeignAairs of the Republic of Macedonia.

After the prime ministers address, the grandiose fountainwith the monument Warrior on a Horse was put into use andthe celebration was completed with a massive music happening.e 8 September celebration started with laying of owers at thegraves of rst Prime Minister Nikola Kljusev and President BorisTrajkovski at the Tree Lined Path of the Greats at the Butel cemetery.

Within the framework of the celebration, the Kumanovo-Tabanovcehighway was put into practice and the edition 130 Volumes ofMacedonian Literature translated into English was promotedat the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ParliamentSpeaker Trajko Veljanoski met the president and members of theCommission for the Holding of the Referendum of 1991 in whichMacedonias independence was voted through. e Parliament ofthe Republic of Macedonia held a ceremony session on 7 September,Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met the former prime ministersof the Republic of Macedonia, while President Gjorge Ivanov ad-dressed the ceremony at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. On

the occasion of Macedonias jubilee birthday, the reconstructedairport Alexander the Great and the new public transport busesin the capital were put into use. A new postal stamp depicting thestate ag was promoted as well. Macedonias Independence Daywas celebrated with receptions and a variety of events also in theMacedonian embassies and consulates abroad.

As a reminder, according to the ocial statistics, in the referen-dum for independence of 8 September 1991, from 1,495,626 eligiblevoters, 1,132,981, or 71.85 percent, cast ballots, and 1,079,308, or95.09 percent of them (72.16 percent of the total number of eligiblevoters) voted for independence. Following the successfully conductedreferendum, the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia passed aDeclaration on International Recognition of the Republic of Mac-edonia as independent and sovereign country on 19 December 1991.Macedonias independence was recognized rst by the Republic ofBulgaria, followed by Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, Russia, Bosnia andHerzegovina, etc. With the introduction of the national currency,the denar, on 26 April 1992, the Republic of Macedonia declared

its monetary independence too and on 18 August 1992 the Armyof the Republic of Macedonia was founded. e international andlegal sovereignty of the country was denitely conrmed on 8 April1993 when Macedonia became the 181st full-edged member stateof the United Nations with acclamation at the General Assembly.e Republic of Macedonia has so far established diplomatic rela-tions with 168 countries in the world and has been recognizedunder its constitutional name by 132 countries, three of whichare permanent members of the UN Security Council the USA,the Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of China. eRepublic of Macedonia was granted the status of an EU candidatemember state in 2005 and was given a recommendation by the ECfor opening EU membership negotiations in 2009.

20 YEARS OF MACEDONIAN INDEPENDENCE CONFERENCE



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A Macedonian delegation led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevskiparticipated in the 66th Session of the United Nations General As-sembly in New York on 21-24 September. Prime Minister Gruevskiaddressed the general debate alongside 15 other chiefs of delegation,Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama.

We know who we are and how we are going to live. We areMacedonians, speak Macedonian and our countrys name is Re-public of Macedonia, Prime Minister Gruevski said in his addresson 24 September.

He addressed also the Economic Forum and the Summit ofBalkan Leaders and attended the reception hosted by US PresidentObama, which was an excellent opportunity for discussion withother distinguished heads of state and government. On the sidelinesof the Session of the General Assembly, at the prestigious New York

Business Club Harvard, the Macedonian Government staged a busi-ness forum presenting the Macedonian economic policies and pos-sibilities for investment in the Republic of Macedonia Republic ofMacedonia the Most Competitive European Business Destination attended by representatives of more than a hundred US companies.

While in New York, Prime Minister Gruevski, accompanied byForeign Minister Poposki, had a meeting with mediator MatthewNimetz, at which Macedonians interest in, wish for and commit-ment to seeking out a mutually acceptable solution to the nameissue imposed by Greece was rearmed.

e Macedonian delegation led by Prime Minister NikolaGruevski visited Detroit too and had meetings with representa-tives of Detroit-based US companies at which the possibility formaking investment in the Republic of Macedonia was discussed.

Within the framework of the 66th Session of the United NationsGeneral Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Aairs of the Republicof Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, participated in the informal min-isterial meeting of la Francophonie, the launching ceremony ofthe Open Government Partnership initiative, and the high-levelmeeting about nuclear security and safety.

At the invitation of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,Minister Poposki talked about the situation in the Balkans at theTransatlantic Dinner attended by the Foreign Ministers of EU andNATO member countries, Switzerland and Macedonia. e situa-tion in Northern Africa and the Arab countries, as well as the latestdevelopments in the Balkans were debated at the Dinner. MinisterPoposki took active part in the ministerial meeting of the member

states of the A5 Charter of Partnership between Macedonia, Albania,Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the USA, atwhich the ministers talked about the future joint activities withinthe framework of the Charter directed toward faster integrationof the Region into NATO and the EU. Minister Poposki also ad-

dressed the 7th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force ofthe Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CBTB) arguing foraccelerated ratication of the Treaty. He also emphasized Macedo-nias commitment to full implementation of the provisions of theTreaty and its universal validity and implementation.

66TH SESSION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

ACTIVITIES OF MINISTER NIKOLA POPOSKI AT 66TH SESSION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY



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8TH MEETING OF MACEDONIA-EUSUBCOMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE, FREEDOM ANDSECURITYe 8th meeting of the Subcommittee for Justice, Freedom andSecurity between the European Union and the Republic of Mac-

edonia took place in Skopje on 14 September. It was assessed atthe meeting that in keeping with the general assessments of theEuropean Commission, Macedonia continued meeting politicalcriteria for EU membership and that more eort should be madein the elds of judiciary, public administration reform, anticorrup-tion and freedom of media.

MINISTER POPOSKI AT 4TH SEMINAR OFFOREIGN MINISTERS IN BORDEAUXe Minister of Foreign Aairs of the Republic of Macedonia, NikolaPoposki, participated in the 4th Seminar of Ministers of ForeignAairs of the European Peoples Parties in Bordeaux, France, on30 September and 1 October. e main issues at the seminar werethe European initiatives toward the Eastern partnership, the Medi-terranean politics, the Balkans and the situation of the religiousminorities in the world. e seminar was organized for the fourthtime by the European Peoples Parties.

REGIONAL SUMMIT OF HEADSOF STATE OF SEEe Ninth Regional Summit of the Heads of State of South EastEurope on the theme Contemporary Art and Reconciliation, tookplace on 1 and 2 September at the archaeological site Viminacium

near Kostolac, Republic of Serbia.Apart from the host, the President of the Republic of Serbia, BorisTadi, the summit was attended by the heads of state of the region Gjorge Ivanov, Ivo Josipovi, Georgi Parvanov, Bakir Izetbegovi,Filip Vujanovi and Bamir Topi, who welcomed and backed thenew global initiative of UNESCO Building Cultural Bridges forDevelopment and adopted a closing Declaration, which containsthe commitment to peaceful and prosperous European future in theregion. President Ivanov stressed in his address that a challenge toall is living and materializing Goce Delcevs dream: I understandthe world only as a eld for cultural contest among peoples.

During the summit, President Ivanov had separate meetings withthe Presidents of Serbia, Albania, EU Commissioner for Education,

Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth Androulla Vas-siliou and other participants. During his stay in Serbia, PresidentIvanov also met representatives of the Macedonian communityin Serbia.

At the invitation of the EU High Representative for Foreign Aairsand Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and the Minister of ForeignAairs of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, the Minister of Foreign Af-fairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, participatedin the informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Aairs of theEU member states, Gymnich, in Sopot, Poland, on 2-3 September.

e Ministers of Foreign Aairs of the candidate memberstates Macedonia, Turkey, Croatia, Iceland and Montenegro participated in the working sessions of Gymnich on 3 Sep-tember 2011, at which the situation in the southern and easternneighborhood of the European Union and the EU initiatives inregard to these regions were discussed.

INFORMAL MEETING OF EU MEMBER STATES FOREIGN MINISTERS (GYMNICH)



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MINISTER NIKOLA POPOSKI PAYSWORKING VISIT TO GERMANYWithin the framework of his 2-day visit to Berlin, the Federal Re-public of Germany (5-6 September), Macedonian Foreign MinisterNikola Poposki met his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle,the Advisor on Foreign and Security Policy to the Federal Chancel-lor, Christoph Heusgen, and members of the Parliamentary Group

for Cooperation with the Countries of Southeast Europe of theGerman Bundestag.e regional cooperation, Macedonias Euro-Atlantic integration,

the political and economic situation and the cooperation betweenthe Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Germanywere discussed at the meeting. It was said that the relations andcooperation between the two countries were characterized byfriendship and understanding, as well as commitment to promot-ing them further in all areas of shared interest.

MACEDONIAN-RUSSIAN COOPERATIONAt the International Fair of Farming Produces, Food and Beverages,

World Food Moscow 2011 staged at the Expo Center in Moscowon 13-16 September, the Republic of Macedonia was representedby 15 companies from the food industry, and the production ofhealthy food and wine.

Within the framework of the fair, a business forum was held inwhich in addition to Macedonian, representatives of 17 Russiancompanies also took part. Deputy Prime Minister and FinanceMinister Zoran Stavreski assessed the holding of a joint Macedonian-Russian business forum as an important practice with immenseimportance for intensifying contacts between businessmen of bothcountries and for expanding the overall economic cooperation, tradein particular. It was concluded at the forum that the presence ofMacedonian rms at events of this type in the Russian Federationshould continue with the aim of raising the oer of the Macedonianfood industry in the Russian market.

e visit of Finance Minister Stavreski and Agriculture MinisterDimovski to Moscow was used also for separate meetings withthe Russian Deputy Minister for Regional Development, MaximrTravnikov, with the aim of preparing the h meeting of the inter-governmental Macedonian-Russian commission on commercial,economic, scientic and technical cooperation.

e ascending cooperation trend, particularly in the economiccooperation, was conrmed also at the h meeting of the inter-governmental Macedonian-Russian commission in Ohrid on 6-7October, at which special attention was paid to the eectuation of

the Russian clearing debt toward the Republic of Macedonia, themodalities of signing the free trade agreement between the RussianFederation and the Republic of Macedonia, and the possibilities ofmaking Macedonia part of the South Stream gas pipeline, whichseems ever more certain.

POLITICAL CONSULTATIONS BETWEENFOREIGN MINISTRIES OF MACEDONIAAND JAPANPolitical consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Aairsof the Republic of Macedonia and Japan were held in Skopje on

26-27 September. e two delegations said they were pleasedwith the achieved level of cooperation between the two countriesmultilaterally, and views were shared about current internationalissues as well as about regional topics. e possibilities for furtherdevelopment of the overall relations between the two countries,

with stress on the cooperation in the elds of economy, trade,education, science, culture and attracting Japanese investments inthe Republic of Macedonia were also discussed.

FIRST PRESIDENTKIRO GLIGOROV AWARDED

e rst President of the Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov,was handed on 5 September the Life Achievements Award by theUnited Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) for his commitment to theMacedonian cause. He was declared recipient of the award at theGlobal Macedonian Conference of UMD in Washington, D.C. on23-25 June. President Gligorov was handed the award within theframework of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Macedo-nias independence.

MACEDONIAN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

DECORATEDe President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov deco-rated the Macedonian national basketball team, selector MarinDokuzovski and the technical sta, who won the fourth place at theEuropean Basketball Championship in Lithuania on 20 Septemberfor the promotion of the Republic of Macedonia in the world andfor their contribution to the development and popularization ofbasketball in Macedonia.

Macedonia received the most desired sport gi for the 20thanniversary of its independence. e success you achieved is con-tagious and I am convinced that it will continue in all elds - sport,culture and economy. You put the Macedonian basketball on the

European basketball map, President Ivanov said at the presenta-tion of the awards.



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MDB would like to extend a warm welcome and wish a successfuldiplomatic mission in the Republic of Macedonia

to the Ambassadors

H.E. Mr. Paul D. WOHLERSAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States

of America to the Republic of Macedonia

H.E. Mr. Cui ZHIWEIAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of thePeoples Republic of China to the Republic of Macedonia

H.E. Archbishop Janusz BOLONEKApostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to the Republic of Macedonia

H.E. Mr. Guillermo Salvador AZRAKAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic

to the Republic of Macedonia

H.E. Mr. Roman WASCHUKAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada

to the Republic of Macedonia, resident in Belgrade

H.E. Mr. Faig BAGHIROVAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of

Azerbaijan to the Republic of Macedonia, resident in Ankara

H.E. Mr. Jozsef BENCZEAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of

Hungary to the Republic of Macedonia

MDB would like to wish a successful mission to our colleagues

Mile PRANGOVSKI,Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in London

Valentin MITROVSKI,Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in Sarajevo

Serdjim MUHAMED,Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in Washington, D.C.

Borislav HCIEV,First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in Doha

Marjan JOVANOVSKI,

Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in Belgrade

Marjan SOFRONIEVSKI,Second Secretary, Consulate General of the Republic of Macedonia

in Istanbul

SLOVAKIA CELEBRATES CONSTITUTION DAYOn the occasion of 1 September, Constitution Day of the SlovakRepublic, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in the Republic ofMacedonia hosted a reception at the Raguza Restaurant on 21 Sep-

tember. e recep-tion was attendedby high-ranking

Macedonian ocialsincluding the Parlia-ment Speaker Mem-bers of Parliament,Ministers and otherrepresentatives of anumber of govern-ment ministries,

representatives of the diplomatic corps in the Republic of Mac-edonia, etc. e guests were welcomed by Charge dAaires Dr.Rbert Kirng.

COLLECTION PROMOTEDe Collection published on the occasion of the 1,100th anniver-sary of the death of the Saint and Slav missionary Naum of Ohridwas promoted at the Cathedral Church of St. Soa in Ohrid on4 September. e Collection consists of 18 articles by renownedacademicians, professors and scholars from Macedonia and abroad.Speaking about the signicance of St. Naums achievements, HisBeatitude Stefan, Archbishop of Macedonia and Ohrid, said amongother things that thanks to Clement and Naum today there isMacedonian literacy, literature, Macedonian Orthodox Church,priesthood and monkhood.

BALKAN FILM AND FOOD FESTIVALe Balkan Film and Food Festival within whose framework aMacedonian Day took place was held in Podgradec, Albania, from29 August to 4 September. e lm Across the Lake directed byAntonio Mitrikeski was shown at the Festival and some of theMacedonian traditional cuisine was presented aer the showing.

MACEDONIAN ARCHITECTS EXHIBIT IN NEW YORKOn the occasion of Independence Day, a collective exhibition ofsketches, projects and photographs by a group of architects fromthe Republic of Macedonia opened at Gallery MC in New Yorkon 14 September within the Project entitled Imprints, Manual

for Making Architecture. Some 39 sketches and photographs byeminent Macedonian architects were on display.

e project has been carried out actively since the early 1990s.e group of architects scored a notable success also at the 54thVenetian Biennial where they won the second prize for best creation.

ART EXHIBITION IN MONTENEGROOn the premises of the Art Colony Red Municipality in Petrovac,Montenegro, an exhibition of paintings from the last Art ColonyDe Niro in Bitola opened on 10 September. irteen distinguishedauthors from the Republic of Macedonia, as well as authors fromSerbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, the USA, Vietnam, Ger-

many, England and France exhibited their works.

DIPLOMATIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT 2011e 15th jubilee edition of the Diplomatic Tennis Tournament, inwhich representatives of the embassies, consulates and foreign mis-

sions in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as sta of the Ministryof Foreign Aairs of the Republic of Macedonia competed, tookplace on the courts of the Tennis Club ABC on 1 October 2011.

In the mens competition, the winner was the representative ofthe Ministry of For-eign Aairs, DraganPetkovski. e sec-

ond and third placeswent to Bruno Morelfrom the EU Delega-tion in Skopje andOsvit Rosoklija fromthe Ministry of For-eign Aairs. In thewomens competi-tion, the rst three places were won by Gozde Dogrukol from theEmbassy of the Republic of Turkey, Sandra Ismailovic from theEmbassy of the Slovak Republic and Danica Boceva from theMinistry of Foreign Aairs.

DIPLOMATICS CORPS SOCIAL EVENTS



12/12

150 Years of Miladinov Brothers Collectionof Folk SongsOn the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of theMiladinov Brothers Collection of Folk Songs, an internationalconference on the subject e Miladinov Brothers and the Mac-edonian Revival of the 19th Century took place in the MiladinovBrothers Memorial House in Struga on 16 and 17 September. e

conference was attended by some 30 home and foreign scholarsstudying the achievements of the Miladinov Brothers. PresidentIvanov, the sponsor of the event, addressed the conference on 16September and stressed among other things that with the seed theMladinov Brothers sowed they drew the borders of our spiritualand cultural homeland a homeland in which we live today, forwhich we are endlessly thankful to them.

e Miladinov Brothers Collection of Folk Song was publishedin 1861 in Gakovo, Croatia, with the support of Croatian BishopJosip Juraj Strossmayer.

Academician Seramovski Exhibits in SoaWithin the framework of the Program for Cooperation in the Field

of Culture between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic ofBulgaria, an exhibition by Macedonian sculptor and academicianTome Seramovski opened in Soa on 1 October. Twenty-foursculptures of important gures for the civilization, culture, literacy,literature and spirituality of ten Balkan countries made of bronze,marble and onyx were displayed at the exhibition entitled BalkanConstellations. e celebration was attended also by the Minis-ters of Culture of the two countries, Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevskaand Vezhdi Rashidov, who expressed content with the bilateralcooperation in the eld of culture. e opening of the exhibitionwas attended also by the President of the Macedonian Academyof Sciences and Arts, Georgi Stardelov, and the President of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Nikola Sabotinov.Simon Trpceski Awarded Title National Artistof the Republic of Macedoniae President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov,decorated pianist Simon Trpceski with the title National Artist ofthe Republic of Macedonia, being awarded in Macedonia for therst time, on 23 September.

Art recognizes no divisions and is the greatest architect of co-existence and shared future of peoples and communities. Artistshave always been and will always be the most signicant promotersof peace, tolerance and understanding. rough art they overcomeall barriers and misunderstandings and make the impossible pos-

sible, President Ivanov stressed, adding that by declaring Trpceskia national artist, we are in fact sending him in a mission of bringingpeople closer together and striking up friendships in Macedonia andalso between the country and the world. Culture Minister ElizabetaKanceska-Milevska attended the ceremony as well.

A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHEREI will say nothing new with the state-ment that being a diplomat in anothercountry is a very serious professionalchallenge, especially here, in the Balkans.And our diplomatic mission implies,among other things, knowing how tohandle challenges, which I nd to be

very motivating.Here I am, at the end of the third year

of my term of oce in neighboring Bul-garia able to share that nally, aer all theups and downs in the bilateral relations,a clear perspective opened up solely forconcrete projects and engagements expected to bring us closertogether and help us look to the future shared and Euro-Atlantic.

If I have to single out an event from my overall engagementhere in Bulgaria, I would say that I was pleased most by my modestcontribution to the realization of the culture projects. And they aremany exhibitions, promotions, concerts. And believe me, although

not being very far from home, the feeling of tingling pride becomesmuch stronger when standing in front of the marvelous achieve-ments and performances of the Macedonian culture. e pride iseven more profound once you see the reaction of the guests, theirinterest and wish to learn more about our culture. In this regard,Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov said something verytrue at his last meeting with Macedonian Culture Minister ElizabetaKanceska-Milevska that, culture is something precious that opensup people toward each other and always paces ahead of politics.

As part of the team at the Macedonian diplomatic mission inSoa, in addition to my usual responsibilities toward the hostcountry, everyday I have the privilege to cooperate closely with 12more diplomatic missions accredited for Macedonia from Soa. Yes,

the work is enormous and frequently exhausting yet I consider it aprivilege for I have the chance to learn rsthand about the specicsof those countries and follow the growth of the bilateral relationswith the Republic of Macedonia, which, I hope, contributes to theimprovement of my professional qualities.

I trust that one of every diplomats responsibilities is learning asmuch as possible about the country in which they serve from itshistory and modern day to the mentality of the people to its culturalvalues to its tourist destinations. Frankly, I undertook this job veryseriously, in my spare time of course, considering my knowledge ofthe country was at a very modest level before I came to Bulgaria.

In recent years, the Republic of Bulgaria has invested a lot in tour-

ism. In addition to the well known European ski centers, the countryhas highly developed spa tourism, church and monastery tourism,wine tourism, and mountain tourism for various levels. e old quar-ters of Nesebar, Sozopol, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Veliko Trnovo andKoprivstica are the destinations that made a huge impression on mewith their beauty and authenticity and which I highly recommendto anyone who decides to learn more about Bulgaria. is helpedme a lot establish contact with the largest Bulgarian tour operatorsand promote their cooperation with the Macedonian tour operators.

As for the mentality, there is an unresolved dilemma over whicha heated discussion is lead whenever you are in a laid-back andfriendly atmosphere: whose rakija is better the Macedonian orthe Bulgarian?

Last but not least, diplomats can represent their countrieswherever in the world, close or far away, provided they work aspart of a professional and coordinated team, as our diplomaticmission in Soa is.

Jadranka CAUSEVSKA DIMOV, Minister Counselor

DIPLOMATIC DIARY

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Macedonian diplomatic bulletin No. 53

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