This is a historic day not only for me but for everyone here because a Swiss President is paying the first official visit to the country, Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova told reporters on Wednesday.
Siljanovska-Davkova noted that Wednesday’s visit by President Parmelin means that he attaches great importance to the Western Balkans, on the one hand, and as she said, “it is an incentive for Macedonian-Swiss relations”. The head of state points out that Switzerland is “an inspiration in terms of democracy, as well as that it has a developed participatory political culture, developed local self-government, forms of direct democracy, from which we can learn.”
“Why is it important for us, because it is a successful example of a small federal multilingual state, in which differences are overcome with knowledge, with civic capacity, with competence and, of course, with constant activity. We have noted that we are making progress in the dialogue. Why? Because it is based on respect and we intend to continue in the same spirit, especially within the OSCE, because in these difficult times, as you know, Switzerland took the lead in the OSCE. But also in the United Nations and also in the Council of Europe. Peace and security are our main commitments and I have said many times that for small states, the solution is multilateralism, and it thrives in stable international institutions,” said President Siljanovska-Davkova.
Swiss President Parmelin expressed regret that the first visit of Switzerland to North Macedonia had been awaited for a long time, but, as he said, this visit can also be seen as a sign of good development of relations in the past few years.
“Switzerland and Macedonia are countries marked by a long-standing tradition of multiculturalism. This means that our joint cooperation, conversation and dialogue are strong, our countries are doomed in some way to fight for their path and existence in Europe. We are also connected to Kochani and Crans Montana. We are also connected to these two disasters. I want to remind you and thank Macedonia for its solidarity and generous offer of assistance. That solidarity gave us the strength to overcome these terrible tragedies. So far, our bilateral relations have been marked by the Swiss cooperation program and the presence of the strong diaspora from North Macedonia in Switzerland, which strengthens the cultural diversity in my country,” said President Parmelin.
