Skopje, 10 March 2026 (MIA) - Amid rising security and geopolitical challenges governments must adapt quickly and act together, because cooperation is the only real option, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski stressed at the Budapest Balkans Forum 2026 conference hosted in Budapest, Hungary by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs.

In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said Mucunski spoke at a high-level opening panel on the topic of “Central Europe and the Western Balkans in the New Geopolitical Era”, alongside his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Montenegro, Filip Ivanović.

“The country received its EU candidate status together with Croatia, which is already a member of the Union, and we have made serious national concessions over the past years. Our society is pro-European, the Government is focused on European reforms and full alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, but we expect the enlargement process to be clear, credible, and predictable,” Mucunski said at the panel discussion.

The Foreign Minister added that the country is committed to being a predictable partner of the European Union, but it expects the same level of predictability and credibility from the member states as well. 

“Our task is to be a predictable partner of the European Union, but we also expect similar predictability from the member states. We know we belong in Europe, but we expect this predictability to be fully reciprocal,” Mucunski stressed.

The Foreign Minister also stressed the strategic importance of corridors VIII and X, both from a security and trade perspective.

“Our focus at the moment is on two very important European corridors that intersect precisely in our country – Corridor VIII and Corridor X. They are significant both from a political and security aspect, but also from an economic and trade aspect. In the field of energy, we are in the process of constructing an interconnector with Greece, that will give us access to the LNG coming from the Alexandroupolis port,” the Minister said.

Mucunski highlighted the importance of the country’s relations and strategic partnership with Hungary.

“The strategic partnership has created many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. There are significant investments on both sides, which we are facilitating as government, in order to expand access to the market for Hungarian companies coming to our country, but also for Macedonian companies investing and working in Hungary. We see Hungary as our strategic partner and an important supporter of the region’s European path,” Mucunski underscored in his address.

Photo: MFAFT