FM Osmani holds briefing after UNGA77
Skopje, 26 September 2022 (MIA) – Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told a press briefing on Monday that the narrative towards North Macedonia at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly for the first time marks a qualitative change – from a country that seeks support for its international position, to a country that provides support and actively contributes to collective security, first as a NATO member, second as a country in negotiations with the EU, and third as forthcoming OSCE chair country.
Osmani, who participated last week at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly as part of a government delegation led by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, stressed that such change made an important difference. “It’s a qualitatively important difference. From a country that usually presents its problems at those events, to a country that is presented with the problems of other countries. And there are many reasons for that. First, of course, our NATO membership, which immediately changes the country's international position. Second, the beginning of the negotiations. And this could be noticed in New York because we were treated as if we were already a member state of the Union, also in terms of the interest of countries from outside Europe, from Asia, from Africa, from South America, who already see us as an EU member state. And of course, the third reason is our upcoming OSCE chairpersonship OSCE, which gives the country a new international position,” Osmani added. Particularly, Osmani stressed, because they consider the country to be a success story that can serve as a model for other countries in the region and beyond - a model country in terms of internal inter-ethnic harmony, i.e. as a rare example of a successful multi-ethnic functional democracy, a country with settled relations with neighbors in a difficult region and in a difficult neighborhood and a country with a successful integration policy. “So, from a country that was a consumer of security to a country that is a provider of security, if I may say after the General Assembly,” said Osmani.
