The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov today in Mostar addressed at the plenary session of the UNESCO Summit of South-East Europe’s Heads of State entitled "Religious, Cultural and Historical Heritage as a Foundation for More Intensive Cooperation among States", within the Forum “Dialogue among Civilizations”.

Distinguished Participants, Esteemed Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I avail myself of this opportunity to express my great pleasure that today I can greet and address this distinguished gathering. Given that this is the 10th consecutive summit, it is a proof of the willingness and readiness of the countries from the region to cooperate. It is a confirmation of the importance of regional cooperation. The importance of this year’s Forum is enhanced by being held in Mostar, the city that today regains its ancient role of a city-bridge between peoples, cultures and religions.

Distinguished Participants,
The Republic of Macedonia is proud to be the initiator of this type of summits. In 2003, President Boris Trajkovski initiated this series of meetings dedicated to culture to which, to our great satisfaction, UNESCO and the Council of Europe joined. Taking this opportunity I would like to recollect the words of President Trajkovski: “There is a time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to love and a time to hate. But now, dear friends, it is a time to heal and a time to build peace”.

He tragically died 8 years ago, near Mostar, leaving us the covenant to keep up building peace in the Balkans. A covenant which is carved in the 2003 Ohrid Declaration, where, among the other things, it is stated: “We, the participants in the Ohrid Regional Forum on the Dialogue among Civilizations, commit ourselves to a culture of dialogue, tolerance and peace in order to advance prosperity, well-being and mutual cooperation among the peoples and countries of the South-East Europe region”.

Esteemed Excellencies,
This series of meetings helped contribute to building peace in the Balkans. Helped strengthen cooperation, stabilization of relations among our countries, both in terms of culture, politics and economy, through regional and personal dimension. Owing to this kind of meetings, relations among the countries in our region have become more relaxed. Nevertheless, this Forum helped us, the Balkan leaders, establish and maintain personal relations and contacts.

All of us at this table are aware of the importance of the contacts in our region. Such meetings enabled us, through neutral topics, to highlight the great cultural and historical heritage which abounds throughout the region. These meetings were the herald of more intensive bilateral, but more importantly, regional cooperation. We have created conditions for better understanding, for overcoming historical prejudice, thanks to an extremely important dimension- the historical and cultural heritage.

Oftentimes at the meetings with European and world leaders, with a metaphor, I describe the reality that we have missed so much in the Balkans. For long, we in the Balkans, had been focused on the past and looked back at the rear-view mirror. And not coincidentally, the rear-view mirror for vehicles is small, while the windscreen is widespread.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The last decade of the 20th century in our region was a period of turbulence. Balkans was recognized by tragedies of victims and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons.

The first decade of the 21st century was a period of healing wounds and peace building. Thanks to the numerous initiatives, including today's Forum, the image of the Balkans has been changed. The past is replaced with the desire and the need for a common future in the big European and Euro-Atlantic family. Yet, I think we can do much more.

I believe that the second decade of the 21st century, of the dialogue among civilizations, should be a decade of specific activities. The list of declarations and documents of previous forums shows that capital has been created. Capital that needs to be invested and multiplied by concretization of cooperation among the countries in the spheres of mutual interest.

Today Bosnia and Herzegovina hosts the 10th Annual Forum. The Republic of Macedonia will be the host in June 2013, of the 10th anniversary of this type of meetings. I believe this gives us a unique opportunity to see what we have done and what should be done for the benefit of the citizens. Our citizens expect and deserve more than political declarations. It is time to launch a new phase, a phase of specific projects and activities. I have no doubt that all our energy should be directed towards youth, toward shaping young people for the future and future for young people. Such is the spirit of the School for Young Leaders, which is being organized for the third consecutive year in Ohrid. We need to do something similar at regional level, to prepare the ones who will come after us so that they would make better achievements than we have.

Distinguished Participants,
Turning to the topic of this year's Summit, religious, cultural and historical heritage as a foundation for more intensive cooperation among the countries, let me share with you some of my observations.

The need for dialogue, the need for openness and communication in the world has never been greater than today, today, when there is a feeling of growing intolerance, religious fundamentalism and exclusion. At a time when many societies are facing and struggling with deep crisis of certain moral values. I believe that the dialogue among religions and cultures is instrumental for overcoming prejudice and fear, for cohesion and understanding among peoples regardless of religion they belong to.

We must not forget that dialogue is changing hearts and minds of individuals. The one who communicates becomes integrated and the one who does not communicate becomes ghettoized, saddled with imaginary enmities.

Past experience indicates that our region has survived in peace when there was an open space. Best proof for that is the history of this splendid city of Mostar. Whenever Mostar is part of an open space, it performs its primary role of a city-bridge, a city that connects and unites different peoples, religions and cultures. Whenever Mostar is part of a closed, divided and isolated area, its multicultural, multiethnic and multi-confessional soul is split. This refers to Mostar, but it refers to our societies, too.

Esteemed Excellencies,
The future of the Balkans depends on Europe but also the European future depends in part on the Balkans. My vision and motto has always been: "European peace is unattainable without Balkan peace". My consideration, however, is that the unification of the European continent, and the efforts to attain the vision of "Europe united in diversity" can be accomplished with the implementation of the models of multi-ethnic coexistence that are applied in the Balkans, in particular the Macedonian model, a model of multiethnic democracy that implies integration without assimilation. I am confident that these positive Balkan experiences can help in shaping the European future.

The Republic of Macedonia used to live and is living in a world of diversity, respecting legacy. Life has taught us to coexistence, tolerance and mutual understanding and assistance. We are reminded of this by what we in the Balkans know as Kapicik (small gate), in the true sense of the word. It is known from past days, that even when the gate between neighbors was locked, the small gate always remained open. Open to dialogue, exchange and assistance, as a gate that even in times of challenge was not supposed to be closed.

Despite the turbulent 90s of the last century, the countries of Southeast Europe today can offer an authentic model of multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual coexistence. Coexistence reflecting the diversity of the region and the rich historical experience accumulated over the centuries. Coexistence that answers some of the challenges faced today by the European Union member-states.

In the core of this is the experience of our multiethnic, multilingual and multi-religious societies. Societies that for centuries enabled peaceful coexistence among religions and cultures. Societies in which people from different religions and different cultures share a long tradition of coexistence and respect. I believe we should uphold this in the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am convinced that our region has an incomparable advantage over many other regions in Europe and worldwide. Where do I see this advantage? For long periods of time our region lived in an open space, a space without borders. That enabled great interaction between diversity in every aspect. The values of tolerance, dialogue and coexistence are embedded in our Balkan code. Adversities emerged when the process of creating boundaries started. But, there is a way out. The code that we bear needs to be put in function for the future. Future in which we will minimize the significance of borders in the Balkans again. I believe only with our membership in the European Union we can achieve this.

Thank you.