Skopje, 15 November 2022 (MIA) – Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski addressed the two-day Ministerial Conference “Sustainable Migration Governance in the Western Balkans”, co-hosted by the Ministry of Interior and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday. The conference in Skopje is attended by Interior Ministers from the region. The participants will be addressed by the UN Resident Coordinator in North Macedonia Rossana Dudziak, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Czechia Vít Rakušan and the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi. In his address, Minister Spasovski, welcomed the participants to North Macedonia. “The Ministry of Interior assigns great importance to international cooperation in managing migration flows both on a strategic and operative level, even more so because there are numerous projects being realized by the Ministry in cooperation with IOM and other partners who aim to contribute to better management of migration, strengthened national systems for managing migrations and readmissions, efficient border management and dealing with cross-border security risks,” said Spasovski in his address. He said it has become evident that migration governance is a complex security challenge, faced not only by North Macedonia but also by the region as a whole, since the Balkan peninsula is a part of the natural corridor and a crossroads for the migration routes and sub-routes leading from Asia and Africa to Central and Western Europe. “I believe you will agree with me that illegal migration is a daily topic of discussion of the police services in our region and Europe, where the pressure and transit of illegal migration still remains high in 2022, while migrant smuggling remains attractive and lucrative for criminal groups. Through the so-called Balkan route we are registering networks of organized criminal groups using all opportunities to earn large sums of money,” said Spasovski. According to him, the current military and political security risks in the Near and Middle East, the unfavorable economic and social situation in their home countries, affect the entry and transit of illegal migrants through North Macedonia. On our southern border, said Minister Spasovski, we have been working together with foreign police officers through the continued implementation of the international joint operation with IOM’s support, in which colleagues from eight European countries are participating, seven of which are EU members with a maximum number of 160 foreign police officers deployed. The signing of the Frontex Agreement between North Macedonia and the European Union, which we have been proudly promoting in the past month both at an international and domestic level, said Spasovski, has multiple meanings for North Macedonia. “Above all, the ratification of the Agreement has opened up the possibility of deploying Frontex personnel on our territory. This will additionally regulate and specify the policies and practices for border protection, which will in turn contribute to strengthening of migration control capacities, and undoubtedly lead to sustainable and permanent solutions in dealing with illegal migrations and cross-border crime, more secure borders and greater security for our citizens and the citizens of the Union,” said Spasovski. Spasovski emphasized that in the field of migration the main priority of the MoI is maintaining and deepening the international cooperation with the countries of the region, with the transit countries and with the origin countries, as well as the EU agencies, the UN and other relevant international organizations. “Once more I would like to stress that, as responsible institutions, we must continue building the capacities for sustainable migration governance. We have to invest in additional training of the authorities in charge of implementing the legislation, to continue to invest in material and technical means, especially in information technologies that can significantly aid us in this area,” said Spasovski. The key activity on our path towards sustainable migration governance in the Western Balkans, said the Minister, is the progress in the realization of international cross-border cooperation, strengthened international trust and increased information exchange, which is the best proof of our readiness to make the security environment even more favorable, and thus speed up our progress in the EU accession process. ad/nn/