The Secretary General for International Economic Relations at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President of Enterprise Greece and Chairman of the Board, Mr. Ioannis Smyrlis, participated today in the Skopje Economic Forum themed “A new dawn: Laying the foundations for prosperity and stability”, held in Skopje.
In his speech entitled “Greece – North Macedonia, Economic & Business Cooperation”, Mr. Ioannis Smyrlis stressed out the fact that today’s event is a strong proof of our will to strengthen the bonds among neighbors and lay out the foundations for further collaboration in trade, investments, connectivity, energy, development assistance, logistics, tourism, and other sectors.
The Secretary General for International Economic Relations highlighted Greece’s support to Balkan countries’ full membership of the European Union, subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set by the EU, stating at the same time that this is the only way forward.
As the oldest member of the European Union and the biggest economy of the region, Mr. Smyrlis asserted that Greece’ s goal is to achieve stability and integration, through a partnership that defends and safeguards key EU values, namely fundamental rights and democratic governance.
Mr Smyrlis referred, inter alia, to the Balkan Forum on Regional Cooperation, held in September in Thessaloniki, which is Greece’s gateway to the whole region and will focus on advancing sustainable and inclusive development in the Balkan counties.
The Secretary General for International Economic Relations pointed out finally that relations between the two countries have improved in recent years, stressing though that the full, stable and good faith implementation of the Prespa Agreement is obviously critical for further bilateral progress, as well as for fostering North Macedonia’s EU perspective.