NEWS

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša receives Goce Delcev Award

In Chicago today, the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša was presented with the Goce Delcev Award by the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD), an international non-governmental organisation. This is the UMD's highest award and is conferred on persons whose works in public life have a strong influence on Macedonians throughout the world. Moreover, it is intended for those who are committed to freedom, justice and democratic principles.
 
In its statement of reasons for conferring this award on the Slovenian Prime Minister, the UMD wrote that Macedonians living outside their native country cherish the solid bonds of friendship between Slovenia and Macedonia. Slovenia was in fact the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Macedonia, while today it provides political, expert and technical support to the country in its EU integration efforts. Slovenia is also a political and economic partner for Macedonia and has helped the country by providing development funds and assistance in infrastructure. In recent years, Slovenia also implemented a series of important projects in various areas, such as business operations, the environment, agriculture and human resources. There are currently more than 70 Slovenian companies strongly engaged in the Macedonian economy, while direct Slovenian investments in this country amounted to some EUR 350 million at the end of 2010.
 
In its statement, the UMD went on to confirm that Slovenia's support to Macedonia in its endeavours to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures is of paramount importance, and also gave credit to the Slovenian Prime Minister for this assistance.
 
On the margins of the award ceremony, Prime Minister Janez Janša said that he does not see this award as a personal recognition, but rather as recognition for all the efforts invested by Slovenia under different governments to help expedite Macedonia's progress. "Several years ago, Slovenia succeeded in pushing through a proposal under which Macedonia was granted EU candidate status. Since then, progress has, unfortunately, stalled before decisive steps forward could be made, the reason being a dispute over the country's name, an unresolved issue within both the European Union and NATO. In the years ahead, additional efforts will therefore have to be made in order to at least somehow circumvent this barrier if it proves impossible to remove. The stability of the entire region also depends on the progress made by all Western Balkan countries towards EU membership, as well as NATO membership for those which are not yet members of this structure. As this progress is not only of exceptional importance for our region but for the entire continent, every party involved should make more efforts to this end," the Prime Minister concluded.
 
This is the second time the UMD has presented the Goce Delcev Award thus far. The award was first received in 2010 by the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for his support to Macedonia in the international environment, and for his respect of the country's cultural and ethnic heritage.