Your Serene Highness, Prince Albert of Monaco,
Respected Mayer of Sochi, Mr. Pakhomov,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here today, in Sochi, at the 6th international forum for Peace and Sport which, for the past five years has helped re-claim peace as the fundamental value of sport. I want to use this opportunity to congratulate the organizers of the Forum as well as our host - the city of Sochi which is becoming an Olympic and Paralympic center.

Distinguished attendees,
We live in times of changes and uncertainty. Time of challenges to both individuals and societies. Global economic and financial crisis, threats to peace and stability, natural hazards amplified by climate changes are leaving their mark on our lives. To cope with these challenges, we need each and every instrument, each and every opportunity to build a better place for our children.

We often think of sports as secondary activity that fills up our spare leisure time, that is, until we look at the principles of sport: Fair play, which means obeying both the letter and the spirit of the rules. Winning, after all, is only meaningful when competition is fair. Sport is about building character, striving for excellence and rising to the challenge. Sport is about respect for others. Winning with dignity and losing with grace. Sport should bring joy both on the field and on the benches. Sport promotes healthy lifestyle for every generation. Sport is inclusive and open to everyone. Sport is shared by everyone. It is these principles that give sport the potential to connect people and nations. Principles that make us re-think our position on the role of sport.

Sport has the potential to include each and every aspect of society, each and every person, and each and every child. It brings together man, women and children of different ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds. It includes and encourages the different, the people with disabilities. One recent positive example from my country, the Republic of Macedonia, is our champion Olivera Nakovska-Bikova. She who won the golden medal and established a world record in air pistol shooting at the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Her success gives hope to many other competitors.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In antiquity, the Olympic Games would temporarily stop all wars. Nowadays, in the 21st century, it is the armed conflicts that manage to interrupt and even stop the Games. We need to put an end to this negative tendency.

Sport is a tool for achieving solidarity among peoples and nations regardless of their differences. But, even more, sports have a significant role in peace building, preservation and affirmation of peace. We must never forget that the spirit of play and the spirit of togetherness are two sides of the same coin.

Sport is the means, peace is the ends. Sports promote reconciliation, especially in multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual societies. It is an inclusive, not exclusive human activity. Sport implies participation, instead of isolation.

This certainly is the case with my country, the Republic of Macedonia. This year, we focused on building tolerance, togetherness and mutual respect in our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society through sport. This successful project included over 4000 children from six municipalities. I will never forget the image of children of various ethnic and religious backgrounds playing in the same teams, sharing the ball, winning not only sport matches, but, more importantly, a victory of tolerance over intolerance, a victory of togetherness over isolation, a victory of respect over disrespect. We are ready to share our positive experiences with other countries. I strongly believe that this is needed in our world.

Sport helps us focus on positive and healthy competition that brings out the best in us. Sports have the power to connect communities and nations with the same strength that connects the sport clubs and champions with their devoted fans.

Andre Agassi said: "When you change a child's future, you help change the world...for the better." We must do our best to change the world for our children.

Thank you.