Skopje, 5 September 2025 (MIA) - Ahead of September 8, the country’s Independence Day, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi addressed a reception Friday in the Parliament, delivering a message of unity, cohesion, and a vision for the future of North Macedonia. In his address, Gashi stressed the importance of genuine unity between the citizens, respect for differences and building a shared future without divisions.

“The main message I want to send on this Independence Day is about unity. As a young country, we need many things, but above all I think what we need most is unity. Not uniform or convenient unity, but genuine unity. The kind that respects differences and turns them into richness, not division. Each of us should feel a responsibility not to encourage division, but to build bridges, to use differences not as a wall, but as a window through which we see each other more closely,” Gashi said. 

The Speaker of Parliament said after 34 years of statehood, “it is time for North Macedonia to raise itself to the level it deserves”.

“Perhaps we are a small country when it comes to size, but we are big when it comes to opportunities, aspirations, and ambitions. We are at the heart of the Balkans, and it is time for this hear to radiate stability, culture, knowledge and values, as it has done in our rich past,” Gashi stressed.

According to the Speaker, the country’s independence is not a gift, but a testament that must be nurtured and passed on.

“Independence is not a gift, it is a testament from the past, an obligation for the present and a guideline for the future. It is a testament for this country to be our shared home, a homeland for all its people, without divisions and exceptions. It is a testament for our differences not to divide us, but to bring us closer, to make us richer, to make us stronger. This testament unites us today, and it will guide us tomorrow as well – towards greater freedom, justice and a shared future in which every person feels at home,” Gashi said.

Photo: MIA