Thursday’s first ministerial meeting marked the beginning of Initiative 8 (I8), which, apart from transport and energy connectivity along Corridor VIII, will also serve as a political platform securing a promotion of mutual cooperation and intensification of the political, economic, security, cultural and social exchange between North Macedonia, Italy, Bulgaria and Albania, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani at a press conference Thursday in Brindisi, Italy, during which he presented the main contours of the initative, alongside his Italian, Bulgarian and Albanian counterparts, Antonio Tajani, Mariya Gabriel and Olta Xhaçka.

Skopje, 27 July 2023 (MIA) – Thursday’s first ministerial meeting marked the beginning of Initiative 8 (I8), which, apart from transport and energy connectivity along Corridor VIII, will also serve as a political platform securing a promotion of mutual cooperation and intensification of the political, economic, security, cultural and social exchange between North Macedonia, Italy, Bulgaria and Albania, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani at a press conference Thursday in Brindisi, Italy, during which he presented the main contours of the initative, alongside his Italian, Bulgarian and Albanian counterparts, Antonio Tajani, Mariya Gabriel and Olta Xhaçka.

“The close cooperation with two EU member states, Italy and Bulgaria, is of great importance for us and for Albania, as candidate countries, because it will have positive implications. This initiative is in the direction of what we are striving for as a country, greater integration ahead of membership, i.e., the inclusion of the candidate countries in the appropriate policies and initiatives of the EU, which will allow the citizens to make sure of the benefits of accession during the entire process, and not only after its conclusion,” said Osmani at the press conference.

The joint initiative, according to Osmani, should grow into a new alliance in the region, providing a strategically deeper and more significant cooperation between the countries through the promotion of European values, overall Europeanization of the entire region and establishing permanent understanding, trust, between the people of the region, political cooperation and economic growth.

“North Macedonia can play a key role in improving physical connectivity in the region, connecting the west and the east. The joint work of our governments can enable us to have a transport corridor fairly soon which will make it possible to go from an Italian port on the Adriatic Sea to a Bulgarian one on the Black Sea in 10 hours. Currently, this journey takes 25 hours,” said Osmani.

Osmani initiated the Initiative 8 at the beginning of 2021, as an idea for a new, multidisciplinary platform between North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania, through which mutual cooperation would intensify and deepen, as a strategic interest for the countries that make up the initiative, said the Ministry.

Additionally, in Brindisi Osmani presented the latest infrastructure projects in North Macedonia alongside Corridor VIII on the Trans-European transport network to Bulgaria and Albania, as well as the parallel development of the Corridor X infrastructure, projects that, according to the Ministry, could serve as catalysts for regional cooperation and integration efforts.

The foreign ministers agreed to maintain regular meetings and work on strengthening cooperation, not only between governments, but also between the cities which Corridor VIII passes through. The initiative will also include the business and civil sector as some of the main factors for a successful cooperation.