New Delhi: Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani Thursday said that his country views India as an important partner and attaches great importance to the deepening and strengthening of bilateral relations.
"It’s almost 30 years of friendship and partnership between our nations and I am here in India 15 years after our first visit by the foreign minister of North Macedonia not only to take stock of the state of the relations between our nations but also to envisage and open a new dynamic of political and economic cooperation. There is a huge untapped potential for economic relations between India and North Macedonia," Osmani told ETV Bharat.
The North Macedonia Foreign Minister is on his first official visit to India and his visit comes just days before the G20 summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10, especially at a challenging time for the global security architectures.
Earlier today, Osmani held a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and both discussed ways to create mechanisms and platforms to bring business and people together and unleash the economic potential between the two nations. On the Ukraine conflict, the Balkan country's foreign minister noted that Russia’s aggressive policy against Ukraine has violated the very principles of the International rules-based order, principles, and commitment of OESC (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).
“Yesterday I had a call with the Russian Foreign Minister and urged him to withdraw their forces from Ukraine and end the war and respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. This is the only way to restore peace," he said. On the question of furthering bilateral cooperation with India, the foreign minister said, “There is a need for a more Indian economy in our region”.
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The Foreign minister further reiterates that both countries have a significant role to play here, leading two important international platforms: North Macedonia is chairing the OSCE and India is holding the G-20 presidency. “I truly believe that we must give our all to ensure the functioning and positive contribution of these platforms for the well-being of the people, and for a bit more security in a very insecure world," he added.
“While India is an enormously large country, North Macedonia is small and needs alliances, including in the defense field. This March, North Macedonia marked its third anniversary as a NATO member state. During this period, we proved to be a credible and reliable ally, dedicated to promoting regional stability and maintaining our collective peace and security. It deserves underlining that NATO is a defense pact and has never and will never use aggression against anyone," said Bujar Osmani.
It is pertinent to note that North Macedonia assumed the Chairpersonship in OSCE 2023, in the moment of the most severe European security and geopolitical crisis since WW2.
“The war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine is breaching all international principles and commitments, whether enshrined in OSCE documents or the United Nations. And the price is being paid by people. People in Ukraine dying, maimed, losing loved ones, made homeless, forced out of their country, and living as refugees adding to the already highest number of displaced persons ever, with all the social and economic spillover effects that come with it. And the motto of my chairmanship is it's about people," said the North Macedonia foreign minister.
The OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization. During her two-day visit, from July 10-11 this year, Minister of State for External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral relations, including meeting her counterparts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture. India has close and friendly ties with North Macedonia. The country was part of the Voice of Global South Summit, held by India in January 2023.
