Our region needs new infrastructure, because there are many closed roads in the Balkans that need to be connected. In this context, Corridor 8 will get its significance when Adriatic-Ionian highway becomes a European project and all countries have access to any of the European corridors, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, said at a press conference in Durres, at the end of the 5th Regional Presidential Summit.

The symbolism of this Summit, President Ivanov said, is that Europe is our goal and that Corridor 8 becomes a matter for the European future for the region.

"New infrastructure will result in a new economic, cultural, trade and tourism exchange. Therefore, we in Macedonia insist Corridor 8, which now stretches out to Gostivar to reach Kafasan at the Macedonian-Albanian border", President Ivanov said.

Macedonia, as he said, has access to two European corridors, corridor 8 and 10, but Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro have no access to any European corridor, and, as he noted, what was previously an idea, has now become a concrete project which should be the main discussion topic at the Brdo Process, namely that the region needs a new corridor.

Expressing gratitude to the Albanian President having chosen Durres as a venue for the second cycle of summits, President Ivanov said that among our ancestors Durres was the road to Rome, and for Rome, Durres was the road to Istanbul.

"If, at that time, Via Egnatia was connecting the East and the West through Durres, now Durres should, symbolically, connect Via Egnatia to Via Europe", President Ivanov said.

The Macedonian President stressed that in the future, he would like to see as participants at these summits the presidents of Serbia and Greece, since the corridors will pass through their countries, too.

"As if the 20th century closed teh space and many of the former capitals became peripheries. Now, through the European idea, we are trying to open again our space, therefore, we need a new Infrastructure, highways, pipelines, power lines, fiber optic cables, as new generations want faster services and contacts", President Ivanov said.

As president, President Ivanov said, we have the role to open these topics and advice the governments to be committed to finding suitable solutions, so that they can make use of the available funds for the entire region in joint projects.

Summit host, the Albanian President Bujar Nishani, at the press conference said that the EU integration is and remains a top priority in all countries.

""Moving along will accelerate our path to the EU, and make the processes on that path more efficient and more positive results for our citizens will be provided. So far at these meetings we have managed in eradicating mistrust, whereas our goal now is to strengthen, as much as possible, mutual trust", Albanian President Nishani said.