Skopje, 21 January 2024 (MIA) - North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski is hosting a leaders' meeting on the EC's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, set to take place in Skopje on Monday. 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian PM Edi Rama, Montenegrin PM Milojko Spajić, Kosovo PM Albin Kurti, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Minister of Finance and Treasury Srđan Amidžić, as well as Director General at the Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Gert Jan Koopman, and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O'Brien, will participate in the meeting, the Government said in a press release. 

Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj, Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi and their Western Balkan counterparts will also attend the meeting. In addition, the meeting will bring together representatives of regional organizations, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), CEFTA and the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF), as well as international financial institutions. 

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O'Brien, arrived in North Macedonia on Sunday for the leaders' meeting on the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. 

Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj welcomed Assistant Secretary O'Brien, who is part of a delegation of the country's strategic partners set to participate in the leaders' meeting, extending gratitude for the US' support to North Macedonia, the Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release.   

The Government notes that an event originally scheduled to take place in Skopje on Sunday, to launch a measure on free access to the labor market in Open Balkan countries, is being postponed until technical conditions are fully enabled to implement the measure in Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, respectively. 

"Currently, protocols related to the conditions for free access to markets, as well as electronic identification schemes, are fully aligned. Based on those, teams in each country are taking appropriate final activities. Last week's coordination and technical tests, although initially with positive results, showed that additional time is needed to test and set up the services in the systems of the three countries, so that they become publicly available, for all citizens at the same time. The institutions responsible for implementation are actively working on additional testing and alignment of the systems, taking into account the importance, needs and benefits for the citizens," reads the press release. 

It adds that as soon as possible, and in the interest of the citizens, the three countries will inform about the next steps related to the measure, which is one of the numerous measures and projects arising from the Open Balkan initiative, from which citizens get real benefits and development. 

Photo: MIA archive