The Balkans is the new hope of Europe, the Balkans is Europe. Based on our experiences from the road to Prespa and the Agreement with Greece, today we have the right to say this – we are Europe now more than ever, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a keynote address at Thursday’s opening of the first international conference as part of the Prespa Forum Dialogue.

Zaev addressed high-level representatives of Europe, the United States and the region, who are participating in this Conference, whose main goal is to give impetus to the process of integration of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union, but also to strengthen relations with the United States.

In the presence of US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker, former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn and other prominent domestic and foreign participants, Zaev addressed the efforts which Macedonia and Greece invested to resolve the almost three-decade-old name dispute, which resulted in a solution for which, as he said, there was no example in political history and international relations.

An innovative solution was needed, which will go beyond the framework. And we came to a solution. When everyone claimed that it was impossible. We have put an end to a dispute. We have put an end to the long-standing differences that have erected a wall that has hampered friendly relations between the neighbors, Zaev said.

As Zaev pointed out, the Prespa Agreement offered the world a new Balkan, a European one, which shows both intentions and capacities to be a free, connected, equally valuable and equally important part of the advanced world.

He stressed that today we are reaping the fruits of the resolved dispute. Our ID card at the UN has been completed, relations with Greece are extremely good, bilateral cooperation has seriously improved, there is growth in economic investments, business cooperation, and we already have decisions for joint investments in gas pipeline projects like the one in Alexandroupoli, Zaev said.

Achieving such an agreement required faith that problems could be solved and a clear vision. But it also required endurance and perseverance. The agreement was aimed at overcoming the past filled with mistrust and really building a common future, said the Prime Minister.

Zaev also highlighted that the Prespa Agreement marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter, both for the two countries and for the wider region.