Distinguished Attendees,
Esteemed Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, I constantly make decisions within the scope of my competences - foreign policy, security and defense.

From my personal experience, I know that the key to making correct decisions is the truth. Only when we know what is true and what is false, we can make a decision for the benefit of the citizens and the state. But this is becoming more difficult. Truth has never had so many enemies as it has today. In our age of post-truth, it is very easy to be misled by false news, alternative facts and ubiquitous propaganda. In other words, from the leaves of the lies often we cannot see the stem and the root of the challenge we face.

The new era of the harsh 21st century is a time of complex wars, in which the first casualty is the truth. Therefore, we need a guardian of the truth. In such conditions, extremely important role have the institutions which not only filter out the truth from falsehood, but, with the analytical approach, offer solutions to the challenges we face.

For already 20 years, one agency plays such a role. It is the Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Macedonia. During its establishment, the Intelligence Agency was entrusted with the key to understanding and verification of the truth related to the security threats and risks. Thanks to its sound analysis and research of data and information, state officials can make decisions for the benefit of the citizens and the state.

The Agency constantly informs us about the processes that generate threats to the national security and the enduring and vital values. Thus, the Agency helps us make decisions in order to establish a stable security environment and sustainable development in the long term.

In these 20 years, the Agency helped us avoid many wrong decisions, but also to cope easier with the major ordeals we have faced as a country.

It is enough to recall the first decade of independence, when, in the immediate vicinity of the Republic of Macedonia, wars were fought, frontiers were changed, new states were formed. In such complex conditions, we managed to preserve the peace.

In the second decade of independence, the things changed. The region was pacified and democratized. The countries began to cooperate and jointly paved the European and Euro-Atlantic path. However, the threats did not disappear, just took new forms.

Today, in the third decade of independence of the Republic of Macedonia, our strategic security environment is changing again. The insufficient presence of the European Union contributed to the retrograde processes in our region. We are witnessing an open interference in the internal affairs of the country. The geopolitical picture of the world is also changing. There are new threats and new risks. Illegal migration, violent extremism, foreign terrorist fighters and transnational organized crime are just some of the numerous challenges faced daily by the Republic of Macedonia.

Yet, we managed to face and manage these challenges, owing to our intelligence and security system, whose important part is the Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Macedonia.

Through early warning, assessments and projections, as well as timely Information, the Agency helps us prevent the threats and safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia. And, it does so within the legal frames.

Therefore, I have great honor, as President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Macedonia, on behalf of the citizens, to award the Order „Ilinden 1903" to the Intelligence Agency. This award is a token of gratitude of the Macedonian citizens for all that the Agency has been doing in the past years, even when it is not visible to the public. But, at the same time, this award is a commitment for the Agency to continue, with even greater zeal, to professionally perform its statutory obligations. Primarily, to continue with the exercise of the fundamental state interests of the Republic and its citizens.

At the very end, I assure you that, in a time when we face major internal and external challenges, we are not afraid because we are aware that we will persevere in our goal. We are aware because our decisions are based on two values - truth and justice for our homeland, the Republic of Macedonia.

Thank you.