Macedonia has made incredible progress in the process of moving toward the European Union and I sincerely hope it will become the 28th EU member state, said Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs after Thursday’s meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov in Riga.

After our talks and the information I received about the progress, the reform process and the discussions on the situation in the Western Balkans, I can confirm our firm and unwavering position that the future of Macedonia is in the European Union. We believe that it is time to formally start the process, with the first intergovernmental conference with the EU, said Rinkēvičs.

He pointed out that Latvia is ready to continuously support the country both politically and practically with various cooperation projects.

I think it is great that incredible progress has been made with the Prespa Agreement and we are witnessing these processes. Macedonia is now a full fledged member of NATO, it is an excellent partner in all matters and is in line with the EU’s common foreign policy, Rinkēvičs added.

Dimitrov stressed that he was assured that Latvia continues to support our country’s European future and the holding of the first intergovernmental conference as soon as possible, even in June.

I tried to point out all the arguments and in some way to illustrate why the Macedonian case put the EU to the test, not only for the past missed years, but also because of our reform portfolio, added Dimitrov.

As Rinkēvičs informed, the meeting also focused on regional security and developments in the Western Balkans region, as well as issues related to the current international situation.