The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, held a working meeting today with the heads of the diplomatic and consular representation offices of the Republic of Macedonia abroad, as part of the annual working meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the meeting, the first in his second term, President Ivanov called for proactive and increased engagement of the heads of diplomatic and consular representations in view of implementation of the set strategic foreign policy goals, such as the Euro-Atlantic integrations, good neighborly relations, regional cooperation, openness to all by strengthening the existing and creating new friendships and partnerships, involvement at multilateral level, economic and public diplomacy

"Our diplomacy must be in line with the changes in the world and you all know that in 2014 we witnessed tectonic shifts in the political scene globally", President Ivanov said.

A key task, according to President Ivanov, will have the ambassadors in the immediate neighborhood.

"Next year, I think , key task will have the ambassadors of our country in the immediate neighborhood. I would expect them to increase the cooperation activities. Our region has emerged out of the painful past, a period of confidence-building has been launched, but the decelerated momentum of integration has created a new reality and a new violation of the interests in the Balkans. In such a situation, we, in the region, must fully cooperate in all areas of common interest", President Ivanov said.

"At all the regional meetings I insist that the time has come when the declarativeness in regional relations must be sent in history. A new stage is necessary, with new needs for specific projects in the regional cooperation", President Ivanov said, adding that next year he plans to official visits to Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, as well as exchange of visits with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria. President Ivanov expressed hope for a positive shift in the bilateral relations with the new Greek President.

President Ivanov said that the Republic of Macedonia's membership in the European Union and NATO remains a top priority.

"Although the recommendation was not effectuated and we were not given a date for negotiations, as always, our shared responsibility is to continue, with the same pace, to work on the Euro-Atlantic agenda of the Republic of Macedonia", the Macedonian President said to the heads of the diplomatic and consular representation offices the Republic of Macedonia.

President Ivanov asked for maximum commitment from the Macedonian diplomats in the economic, public and cultural diplomacy.
"We need greater commitment of the Macedonian diplomacy aimed at uniting the Diaspora and overcoming the problems faced", the Macedonian President said to the diplomats.

President Ivanov urged for special attention and commitment to be dedicated to the position of the Macedonian national minority in certain countries where it is in an unenviable position.