Skopje, 12 May 2023 (MIA) - A traditional diplomatic briefing was held Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the activities of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI). Attendees were representatives from the diplomatic corps, international organizations present in North Macedonia, and representatives from institutions that have control over the migration area.

Minister of Interior, Oliver Spasovski, and Sashko Kocev, head of MARRI Regional Centre, gave welcoming speeches.

"During its two-year presidency, North Macedonia assumed an active leadership role and selflessly made its capacities available in order to fulfil established priorities by implementing a series of activities aimed at strengthening the regional cooperation between MARRI participants and to promote European dimensions in the Western Balkans," said Minister Spasovski, adding that numerous meetings, conferences, workshops, trainings, and other forms of cooperation aimed at upgrading and strengthening capacities of the services of regional migration administrations were realized within the framework of mechanism established by MARRI. 

Spasovski said that the level of cooperation between MARRI and European Union Agency for Asylum in the past had been successfully raised by organizing regional trainings.

"This collaboration is part of the activities foreseen in the regional IPA II project Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management systems in the Western Balkans and Turkey, where this European agency, including the MARRI Regional Centre directly contribute to the organization of regional trainings and development of capacities," Spasovski said.

Spasovski referred to two initiatives dedicated to the Europeanization of the region - the Berlin Process and Open Balkan, as significant regional projects with a mandate to promote regional cooperation.

"European integration and the strengthening of our own capacities, and the acceptance of the best practices in our daily operations, is crucial for all MARRI participants, while we are slowly but surely marching toward the European Union. All of us as MARRI participants are at a different stage of development of European integration, and I am especially glad that we are on this path together. The ultimate goal is clear, and we will not stray from the path we proudly walk on. Our only goal is to not only become part of the European family, but also to bring it closer to us, because at the end of the day, we are EU, we are the missing puzzle piece that would make the picture clear," emphasized Spasovski, assuring that he personally and all Ministry organizations remain open to collaboration with all partners and organizations with which we can continuously invest, so that the region can become a better place to live, and be part of the European family.

Kocev, head of MARRI, thanked the Minister for the support so far, and voiced confidence that it will continue in the coming period.

Director Kocev also presented MARRI's activities from the past 12 months, and the identified challenges for which concrete steps are being taken. He said that MARRI would continue implementing existing projects and holding meetings of the cooperation networks it manages, namely: border management police network, cooperation on readmission network, coordinators for prevention of trafficking in human beings network, and heads of asylum departments network.

Kocev announced that efforts are being made to establish a new cooperation network for women in border police. At the end, statements from non-government organizations in the region that were beneficiaries from MARRI's projects were also presented.

Moreover, MARRI was founded in 2004 within the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. MARRI participants are Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. The Mission of the Regional Center in Skopje acts as Executive Secretariat and a focal point for consultations, dialogue, trainings, information exchange, capacity building and other activities agreed by Participants. MARRI is the only regional mechanism with a basic mandate that supports the region of Western Balkans in managing migration by initiating, facilitating and coordinating activities aimed at harmonizing the legal frameworks of the participants with EU law: capacity and industrial building and exchange of information.

Photo: Ministry of Interior