As part of the official visit of the Swiss President, a joint press conference was held today by President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and President Guy Parmelin.
Below is the integral statement of President Siljanovska-Davkova:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Not only for me, but also for all of us and for the country, this is a historic day, because for the first time a Swiss President is paying an official visit. Therefore, allow me once again to welcome his arrival and the fruitful conversation we had.
Why do I stress this? The presence of the Swiss President here means that he attaches great importance to the Western Balkans on the one hand, and, on the other, it is an incentive for the Macedonian-Swiss relations. Switzerland is an inspiration in terms of democracy, Switzerland has a developed participatory political culture, developed local self-government, forms of direct democracy from which we can learn. Why is it important for us? Because it is a successful example of a small, federal, multilingual state, in which differences are overcome with knowledge, with civic capacity, with competence and, of course, with constant activity.
We have noted that we are making progress in the dialogue, which is based on respect, and we intend to continue in the same spirit, especially within the OSCE, because in these difficult times, as you know, Switzerland took the helm of the OSCE, but also to cooperate in the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
Peace and security are our main commitments and I have said many times that for small states, multilateralism is the solution, and it thrives in stable international institutions. Probably, in the talks with the Prime Minister and the government, the figures from the economy will be better explained, but I cannot help but say that Switzerland is one of our largest donors.
For me, the Swiss donations in democratic governance, in sustainable economic development, in environmental protection are especially important and they have been continuous for three decades. I especially thanked for the support in the establishment and work of the Parliamentary Institute in the Macedonian Assembly, because it is the best and main logistical support for the work of the parliament. The program is aimed at improving the legislative procedure, strengthening the oversight function of the parliament, transparency in work and especially in communication with you, the journalists, is particularly important.
We believe that the Cooperation Program 2025-2028 we were informed of by the Office of the President, with a budget of 56.1 million Swiss francs, aims to continue to stimulate reforms related to European integration, which means a lot to us. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, but it meets all the Copenhagen criteria and has excellent cooperation with the European Union.
I am looking forward to the establishment of the SwissCham in Skopje, a platform for economic networking. My priority is intensive cooperation in education, science, culture, sports, because I think we have something to exchange and something to stimulate.
In the end, I presented our situation related to European integration, explained to the President the problems we face, emphasized the importance of the Copenhagen criteria for our Europeanization. It is our natural home, geographically, historically and culturally; we have always been part of Europe and it is where we belong. What we are asking for is to be treated like others, what we are asking for is to concentrate on reform challenges and not waste energy on irrational issues.
Thank you.
