An international conference on peace and sustainable development will be held in Athens on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the signing of the Prespa Agreement between Greece and North Macedonia, BGNES reports.
The two-day event is organised by the former prime ministers of the two countries, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev respectively.
Among the main topics are the future of Europe after the European elections, the integration process in the Western Balkans, geopolitical developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the peaceful settlement of disputes, dealing with the climate crisis, and the impact on European economic development.
The conference brings together heads of international organizations, prime ministers, commissioners, leading government officials, former presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.
Four EU Commissioners will participate, along with the EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak. Among the guests are former French President François Hollande, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, former Prime Ministers of Sweden and Greece Stefan Löfven and Georgios Papandreou, former President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, former Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and the Mayors of Athens and Istanbul.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the participants in a video message before presenting the Prespa Award to UN Special Envoy to the Athens-Skopje negotiations Matthew Nimitz for his contribution to the Prespa Agreement.
BGNES reminds that the Prespa Agreement was signed on 17 June 2018 in S. Nivitsi on the shores of the Great Prespa Lake. The agreement was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries Nikos Kotzias and Nikola Dimitrov in the presence of Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev. The agreement put an end to the long-standing dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia between the authorities in Skopje and Athens.
The signing was attended by UN Special Representative Matthew Nimitz, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn. | BGNES
