Skopje, 27 July 2021 (MIA) – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev addressed on Tuesday a thematic session of the Government dedicated to the 20^th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. “The Ohrid Framework Agreement brought a new spirit of policy-making that builds bridges, instead of destroying them, policies that unite the citizens, and don’t divide them on the path to securing the future of our country in a common Euro-Atlantic home with other nations,” Zaev said. According to him, the country is more stable and safer with the Ohrid Framework Agreement, interethnic tolerance is guaranteed and social cohesion is stronger. “Together we are developing as a country in which chances of prosperity are equal for all, as a NATO member and a future EU member,” he added. Zaev underlined that this important anniversary coincides with the 30th anniversary of the country's independence, the 80th anniversary of the popular uprising, and the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement as the first step in achieving the common goal of EU membership. He highlighted the current Government’s commitment in completing the Framework Agreement with the adoption of the Law on Languages. “The law on the use of languages, as well as all other legal amendments and bylaws on equitable representation, completed the provisions of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, signed on August 13, 2001, which put an end to the 2001 conflict and was accepted as a guarantee that all issues of interest to the communities in our country will be resolved through dialogue and through the institutions,” PM Zaev said. The Ohrid Framework Agreement, he added, put an end to a conflict that brought casualties with it, and it prevented the homeland from becoming a place of continued conflict and a society with no hope for a peaceful life. “However, at times when coexistence and interethnic tolerance were put to the greatest test, we showed that we will solve the problems through the institutional system and in no other way. We showed that we want to live in harmony and unity, achieve progress together,” Zaev pointed out. “And, all this was achieved in close partnership with the European Union, the United States, NATO and the OSCE,” he noted. “Today, this is also their successful history that we celebrate together.” “With the obligation to fully respect the principles of non-discrimination, equality and equity for all ethnic communities, North Macedonia began to be built at an even faster pace as one society for all on a solid foundation, in agreement between all ethnic communities and with the support of all citizens,” said the Prime Minister. He stressed that the Ohrid Framework Agreement, in its essence, contains dialogue, understanding and the creation of a friendly atmosphere as fundamental values for resolving conflicts and misunderstandings, and it set the direction for both the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria. Based on the values of those agreements, he added, North Macedonia reached a milestone in building a state according to European standards. “That is why the Republic of North Macedonia is today recognized as a common and equal society of all citizens. A concept we strongly believe in. We chose policies that build the Republic of North Macedonia as a civil state of all those who live in it: Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Roma, Bosniaks and all other communities. We accepted that Macedonians, as the majority in our country, have responsibility to create policies and atmosphere to nurture, protect and promote, affirm and support the use of all other languages ​​of the citizens living in our country. Our commitment to build and nurture a society equal for all, our goal to build a civil society, while respecting social, ethnic, national, religious and cultural differences - is the uniqueness and essence of our community. This community that has been built for centuries is to us an obligation for our common future,” Zaev said. First Deputy PM and Minister of Political System and Community Relations, Artan Grubi, also addressed the session, highlighting the importance of marking this anniversary of the Framework Agreement as an important document that, according to him, brought peace, changed the Constitution and the society, and opened the country’s Euro-Atlantic perspectives. Events to mark the 20^th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement will start on Tuesday evening with an exhibition at the Mala Stanica Gallery in Skopje presenting works by artists from all communities in the country, followed by a theater performance. The event’s program also includes a session of the Parliament, conferences of three universities, concerts, participation of non-majority communities and NGOs, as well as events in Struga, Kichevo and Chair as municipalities that are a direct result of the implementation of the agreement.  The program will end on August 13 with a conference in cooperation with Columbia University in New York, to be also attended by top state officials, as well as friends from the international community, NATO, the EU, OSCE and the United States, and an exclusive concert by Rame Lahaj with the philharmonic. “At the same time, in cooperation with consultants hired by the EU, who are working on the reorganization of the state administration, we drafted a modern draft-law on the work of the Ministry, which according to the coalition agreement, we’re upgrading to a small, effective ministry that will take care of the rights of all communities, not just ethnic communities but everyone,” Grubi said. Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said, among other, that the Ohrid Framework Agreement contributed to creating authentic history that is more and more accepted within the country every day, and is also becoming an example in the world. According to Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska, the strength of the Ohrid Framework Agreement is that in addition to the constitutional provisions and the legal obligations that gave rights to communities, it managed to create a political climate of unity and a state that has internal cohesion. Deputy PM for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov noted that as part of the celebration of the 20^th anniversary, the peak is on August 13 with a joint event with Columbia University, which will be attended by many of the direct participants in the calming of the crisis and building this common house. One of the pillars, Dimitrov said, is precisely the Ohrid Framework Agreement.