Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried opened the Strategic Dialogue between Macedonia and the United States, taking place at the State Department in Washington on Thursday.

Strategic dialogue with the United States is a new chapter in our mutual relations, which will upgrade our Strategic Partnership and set a framework for further enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries. We are especially proud that Macedonia is the first country in the Western Balkans to hold this important process, which is a recognition of our regional role and a clear signal of friendship and strong alliance between the two countries, Osmani underlined.

The official opening was followed by a session on regional initiatives, chaired by Minister Osmani and Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried. The focus of the discussions was the importance of regional initiatives for the reform processes as particularly important for the European integration perspectives, reconciliation and overall stability in the Western Balkans.

Minister Osmani emphasized the active participation of Macedonia in a number of regional initiatives, emphasizing the Berlin Process, the Open Balkans, the South East European Cooperation Process, the Regional Cooperation Council and others. At the same time, he welcomed their role in the field of economic integration and regional prosperity, emphasizing that they are not a substitute for the membership of the Western Balkan countries in the European Union, but support and accelerate their European integration processes.