Respected Deputy Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Ristovski,
Respected Principal of City College, Mr. Ioannis Ververidis,
Dear scholarship winners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the most common questions I am asked by my colleagues and interlocutors pertains to the relations between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece, between the Macedonian and the Greek society. My answer is always the same: there is one issue that divides us, but there are many things that unite us. And almost always as an example of the connectivity I refer to the scholarships we are awarding in cooperation with City College of Thessaloniki. The scholarships are not accidentally named after our great peacemaker, President Boris Trajkovski.

Hence, these are not ordinary scholarships and you are not ordinary fellows. You are part of a huge process that is dedicated to the dialogue, building trust, mutual understanding and respect between the Macedonian and the Greek society.

Dear scholarship winners,

You are elected as the best of the best because you want to learn and progress further. Experience has shown that for anyone who wants to learn and upgrade, two things will never be exhausted. First, the opportunities for gaining valuable knowledge and skills. And, second, the chances you are given to use what you have learned. What is necessary for these two things is an open mind to receive knowledge and recognize opportunities. Only then you will be successful in the new global competition, in the new dynamic time.

I believe that the Masters program in Business Administration at the University of Sheffield will allow you exactly that.

There is a wisdom attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, which says that "Great minds discuss ideas, strategies, visions; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people". Therefore, be great, discuss ideas. Be creative and innovative.

You are the generation of new technology, the generation that lives with the benefits of global connectivity. In the spirit of your future integration in this global world, I wish you much success. I wish many new ideas to be born during your studies; these ideas to become our reality; that reality to become part of the Macedonian society. I wish you all become real leaders in the environment you come from and encourage the desire in the others to wholeheartedly contribute to the development of our country and our future.

Thank you.