Skopje, 3 June 2022 (MIA) – Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski met with UK Special Envoy for the Western Balkan, Sir Stuart Peach, on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum on Friday. Interlocutors stressed that a fully integrated Western Balkans is not only a political, security and economic interest of the EU, but a geostrategic investment in a stable and prosperous region. Hence, the opening of North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations is also crucial to positive progress on other outstanding issues including the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kovachevski stressed that frequent contacts with Special Envoy Peach are a result of the United Kingdom’s intensified engagement in the Western Balkans to promote regional security issues and support democratic societies for a stable and prosperous region, the Government said in a press release. In addition, Kovachevski noted that the meetings with the UK Special Envoy for the Western Balkan, Sir Stuart Peach, are an impetus to promote the relations between North Macedonia and the United Kingdom. PM Kovachevski, on his behalf and on behalf of the Government and the people, voiced satisfaction that North Macedonia was the first country in Europe to hold the first meeting of the Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Council with the United Kingdom, in order to ensure uninterrupted and continuous development of the close cooperation between the two countries, particularly in terms of business cooperation, reads the press release.