Skopje, 24 September 2023 (MIA) – During his participation in the UN General Assembly, President Stevo Pendarovski, attended Saturday afternoon as guest of honour at the fundraising gala event in Chicago, hosted by Macedonia2025, a non-governmental organisation.

Pendarovski awarded the Order ‘September 8’ to David Calhoun, CEO of the Boeing Company, for his tremendous contribution to the development and progress of Macedonian-American strategic and business relations and to the economic progress of our country, President’s Office said in a press release.

As the patron of the Macedonia2025 ‘Recognition for Diaspora Contribution 2023’, President Pendarovski presented the award to Stanley Thomas and Vlatko Andonovski for their outstanding achievements and contributions.

He said that Macedonia2025 is one of the leading organisations of the Macedonian diaspora, dedicated to promoting development and economic progress of our homeland and its citizens since its foundation in 2007. By initiating and organizing this event, as he said, they once again affirm their relevance and vision for our better future.

“Apart from the numerous activities, including the traditional annual conferences, the scholarship program for high school students, the Ohrid Hi-Tech Excellence Camp in cooperation with the President's Office, which has been successfully held for three years, we recently established and awarded the Macedonia2025 Recognition for Diaspora Contribution for the first time. The award recognizes the exceptional contribution of members of the Macedonian diaspora towards the preservation and affirmation of Macedonian historical, cultural and spiritual traditions and values,” Pendarovski said.

He underscored that we need organisations and individuals that contribute to building close and beneficial ties between the Republic of North Macedonia and its diaspora.

“What we need to do first is to put sentimentality and emotion aside, because what we need is pragmatism. What we need is a situation in which we are all winners, and hence, our common endeavour should be to open pathways for closer communication between us, which aims at new initiatives and investments,” Pendarovski said.

President Pendarovski said that we must be mindful, wisely use the resources available to us and find a way to help the most affected. “This can only be achieved through empathy, togetherness and solidarity. Let's put aside our personal ambitions for a moment and take some of our time to contribute to the good of the nation,” he said.

According to him, only by following the example of our great leaders and working together, we will be able to contribute to a much more advanced country.

Macedonian culture and tradition were celebrated at the gala dinner, while the guests enjoyed Macedonian music and cuisine.

Photo: President’s Office