Skopje, 29 August 2023 (MIA) – At the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani, together with Foreign Ministers from Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Elmedin Konaković, Gordan Grlić-Radman, and deputy minister Megi Fino attended a Tuesday working breakfast organized by Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon.

The meeting was also attended by special representatives for the Western Balkans, Slovenia’s Anžej Frangeš, Norway’s Arne Sannes Bjørnstad, UK's Sir Stuart Peach, and Australia’s Johannes Aigner.

Attendees discussed European integration of the countries in the region as their strategic alliance and a foreign policy goal, with Osmani emphasizing that in addition to a clear time frame for the next enlargement, the concept of accelerated integration of the region within EU before membership will bring greater predictability, stability and will strengthen the credibility of the enlargement policy.

"We are looking forward to the proposals for concrete operations with this new concept, which in our opinion will be of key importance for overcoming differences and accelerating the process of full integration within EU. At the same time, this approach significantly impact the key challenges we face today such as, growing Euroscepticism and would reduce malign influence of third parties that aim to undermine democratic institutions and destabilize the country and region," Osmani said.

Minister Osmani briefed meeting participants on the current situation in North Macedonia, the commitments within the framework of regional cooperation and beyond, both within the framework of the South-East European Cooperation Process and OSCE, which the country chairs, as well as within NATO. ssh/mr