The president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, and the special envoy and coordinator of U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement Center, James Rubin (BETAPHOTO/CABINET OF THE PRESIDENT OF NORTH MACEDONIA)
On Jan. 22, the leaders of the Western Balkans are scheduled to meet in Skopje, where they and the representatives of the European Union and regional organizations will discuss the Growth Plan for the region adopted by the European Commission.
North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski will host the meeting, while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Albanian and Montenegrin prime ministers Edi Rama and Milojko Spajic, Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti, and Finance Minister in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Srdjan Amidzic are expected to attend, the North Macedonian government said in a press release.
The expected attendees include Gert Jan Koopman, director-general at the EC Directorate-General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, and James O'Brien, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Bojan Maricic, North Macedonia's deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs and Fatmir Besimi, the country's finance minister, will also attend, as will their counterparts from other Western Balkan countries.
The conference on the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans will also include regional organizations like the Regional Cooperation Council, the Central European Free Trade Agreement and the Chamber Investment Forum, and international financial institutions. In November 2023, the EC unveiled the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which includes six billion euros in grants-in-aid and loans to accelerate socioeconomic alignment with the European Union.
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.