Talks on the past are important, but so are talks on the future, said European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Macedonia, Ilhan Kyuchyuk at Saturday’s panel discussion within the conference BGMK: 2030 “Civic Contribution for Building Trust, Association and Community.”

Emphasizing the importance of mutual cooperation, Kyuchyuk expressed confidence that the new governments of Macedonia and Bulgaria will continue on the path of openness in order to fully overcome all misunderstandings.

There is no more important factor than trust, there is no universal agreement, there is no agreement that is equally good, there is no agreement that satisfies both parties, but every agreement provides a legal framework to start a conversation. I believe that the new Government of Bulgaria and the new Government headed by Kovacevski will continue on the path of opening opportunities for better understanding.

From my experience, not only as a rapporteur, but also as a person who comes here to talk to the citizens, to the politicians, I can conclude that the only problem is that we do not understand each other, that we do not know about each other. The misunderstanding comes from there and good examples should be given, that we are on the right path to understand each other better, such is the example of the agreement between MIA and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, because through constant exchange of information people will know more about themselves, said Kyuchyuk.

According to him, it is important to encourage citizens and local government to intensively participate in the development of relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia.

He added that the Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Macedonia and Bulgaria and the comprehensive development and deepening of friendly good neighborly relations are in the interest of the peoples of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia.