Skopje, 27 January 2023 (MIA) – Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani met Friday with Swedish Ambassador to North Macedonia Ami Larsson Jain, discussing among other the current Swedish EU Presidency, as well as North Macedonia’s OSCE Chairmanship.  

Osmani and Jain discussed Sweden’s NATO bid and the security situation in Europe, the Swedish Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as the latest developments in Southeast Europe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.   

“In his capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister Osmani presented the priorities of North Macedonia’s OSCE Chairmanship and thanked Sweden for its productive cooperation and support within the OSCE Troika. Minister Osmani thanked for Sweden’s continuous support for the EU integration of North Macedonia and the Western Balkans as a whole,” reads the press release.  

FM Osmani mentioned that during Sweden’s 2009 EU Presidency, North Macedonia was granted visa liberalization and got the first recommendation of the European Commission for the start of accession negotiations.  

He expressed confidence that “with its pragmatic and results-oriented policy, the current Swedish Presidency will also leave a positive mark in the European trajectory of our country”.  

“In terms of the current European security context, interlocutors exchanged views on the course of activities aimed at completing the process for Sweden’s full-fledged NATO membership and agreed on the importance of completing this process as soon as possible in order to strengthen the stability and security of the European continent,” adds the press release.