Struga, 16 June 2023 (MIA) - Nordic and Balkan countries have many similarities, we've had periods of conflicts, but also times when we have formed unions together, and are small countries, but together impactful on the international stage, Swedish Ambassador to North Macedonia, Ami Larsson Jain, said Friday.  

She told the youth panel discussion on "Modalities for the Enhancement of Good-neighbourly Relations & Regional Cooperation" at the 2023 Prespa Forum Dialogue in Struga that after the periods of conflicts the Nordic countries, as small countries in terms of territory and market, have seen that they can't make all that difference on their own, but need to join with the neighbors and then actually be quite impactful on the international stage. And now the Nordic countries work together on political issues and security matters, in education and research, and together they promote shared values in democracy.  

"What we see now in the Western Balkans is that this kind of cooperation is also taking roots. Already having this deeply rooted collaboration in many ways, and it will be great to see the mutual recognition of ID cards, university degrees, coming to force and really start to emulate what we have in the Nordics," said the Swedish Ambassador. 

She pointed out that now they are far from the days of conflict, which they had in the past, and are getting ever closer to good neighborly relations.

"Within such a structure, we made a strategic plan for the Nordic countries to be the greenest, most energy-efficient countries by 2030. It means that we join our resources, together we represent 11 of the most powerful economies. We are part not only of the G20, but also of the G10 group," Larsson Jain said. 

Photo: MIA archive