Distinguished Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Vladimir Peshevski,
Distinguished Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Emrullah Ishler,
Respected Ministers, Members of Parliament,
Esteemed Excellencies,
Respected Media Representatives,
Dear Friends,

It is my honor and pleasure to greet you in the mountain village of Kodzadzik, the birthplace of Ali Riza, father of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

As the father's birthplace is dear to the son, the founder's birthplace is important to the state.
The Republic of Macedonia is proud to be called the birthplace of Ataturk and of his father. But of many other significant personalities, as the talented writer and poet Yahya Kemal and the diplomat Ali Fethi.

They, and many others, are our shared values that depict the tradition of coexistence and mutual respect in our Macedonian multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multilingual society.

Concrete example of the Macedonian model of coexistence is the project for reconstruction of the memorial house of Ali Riza, project strongly supported from the very beginning. Commitment to the implementation of the project and to the good bilateral relations has been confirmed by the donation of an authentic stone from the house to the Ataturk Museum in Turkey.

I am confident that through this project, many foreign and domestic tourists will visit Kodzadzik and will have the opportunity to learn about our shared cultural heritage.

Distinguished guests,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, I believe that the Macedonians will never forget the support and solidarity that the Republic of Turkey has shown to us from the early days of independence of Macedonia.

With the opening of this historic building, we remain consistent with the traditionally good cooperation with the friendly Republic of Turkey. Cooperation is manifested in many areas. From economics to tourism, from foreign policy to culture.
Specific example of the level of cooperation between the two countries are the projects of the Turkish Agency for Development and Cooperation - TIKA, which always meets the needs of our citizens. Therefore, I take this chance to express my gratitude to the Republic of Turkey and to TIKA for the overall support. We will continue to promote our cooperation in the future.

At the heart of our cooperation are the members of the Turkish community in the Republic of Macedonia, as a cultural bridge between the two countries. As loyal citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, they give significant contribution to the political, economic and social development of our country. I believe the Turks in Macedonia, as well as thousands of expatriates in the republic of Turkey originating from Macedonia, will still be ambassadors of friendship and strong cooperation between our two countries.

Distinguished guests,

Today we celebrate the event with mixed feelings of joy and sadness. We are happy to see the final result of the project further linking our two countries exactly on the national holiday of the Republic of Turkey. But, at the same time, we mourn because of the huge mining accident of last week in Manisa, Soma.

Therefore, from this place, I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased miners in this tragic accident. In these difficult times, we share the grief of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey and our thoughts are with the families of the victims.

Thank you.