Tuesday, 5 June 2012, Slovenia
Republic of slovenia is a friend and allie of the Republic of Macedonia
The two days visit of the President Veljanoski to the Republic of Slovenia started with the meeting of the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Gregor Virant. The meeting was attended by the Vice-Presidents of the Parliaments of the Republic of Slovenia and the coordinators of the political parties.
The interlocutors referred to the importance of the parliamentary cooperation and the possibilities provided thereof, in all forms and levels- meetings of Presidents, Groups for Cooperation, Committees and other working bodies of the parliaments.
The President Veljanoski underlined his appreciation for the constant and principle policy and support of the Republic of Slovenia for the Republic of Macedonia, especially on the Euro-Atlantic path of Macedonia. He also informed the President of the Slovenian Parliament that beside the outcome on the enlargement at the Chicago Summit, the Republic of Macedonia remains committed to fulfilling the reforms and committed to the obligations in the framework of the missions of the Alliance.
He underlined that the reforms are obligatory in direction of achieving the standards and the conditions on the integration pat, and above all, it is an obligation before the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.
The President of the Slovenian Parliament, Mr. Virant referred to the name issue of the Republic of Macedonia with its Southern neighbour, expressing his personal opinion that this issue is irrational and exaggerated, since one state cannot give up on its name and identity. He also expressed his conviction that the joint efforts will provide a solution to this dispute.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting with the President Veljanoski and the Delegation from the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, expressed his conviction that all the countries from the region should be integrated in the European Union, since the Union without the Western Balkan is not what it should be. He expressed his regrets that, beside its expectation, the Republic of Macedonia did not receive invitation for membership in the Alliance, at this NATO Summit, as it was the case in the previous Summit in Bucharest, attended by Mr. Erjavec, as Minister on Defence of the Republic of Slovenia.
The President Veljanoski also had a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Janez Jansa, who underlined that the Republic of Slovenia was and remains a friend and an ally of the Republic of Macedonia. He underlined that the strengthening and the promotion of the economic cooperation is in the interest of both states and that the Republic of Slovenia, similar to the Republic of Macedonia is focused on foreign investments. The Prime Minister Jansa informed the attendees that the Government of the Republic of Slovenia is focused on surpassing the consequences of the economic crisis, which influenced Slovenia and concluded that the Republic of Macedonia survived the crisis without major recession.
The President Veljanoski underlined that the friendly relations and the principle
support of the Republic of Slovenia impose additional responsibility and obligation for the Republic of Macedonia to achieve and implement the reforms, providing its supporters stronger arguments for their support.
The President Veljanoski informed the participants on the united opinion of the political parties and the ethnic communities regarding the strategic determination of the Republic of Macedonia – integration in NATO and EU and in the strong commitment to the Euro-Atlantic path.
The Delegation of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia is comprised of the MPs: Risto Manchev, Mevmet Dzemajlovski, Oliver Spasovski and Amdi Bajram.
Yesterday, the President Veljanoski and the MPs had a meeting with the Macedonian Associations in the Republic of Slovenia.
According to the official program the Macedonian Delegation will have a meeting with the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Danilo Tirk, the Chairs and the Members of the Foreign Policy Committee and the Committee on EU Affairs. The President Veljanoski will also address before the Members of the Parliament of Slovenia.