Friday, 22 October 2021
HISTORICAL MEETING OF PRESIDENT XHAFERI WITH KONSTANTINOS TASOULAS
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, met with the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Greece, Konstantinos Tasoulas, within the margins of the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of the Member Countries of the Council of Europe, which is held on 21 – 22 October in Athens.
Xhaferi expressed satisfaction that this first meeting with his Greek fellow is taking place in Athens, in the year when the Republic of Greece is celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the beginning of the struggle for independence and congratulated Tasoulas on the excellent organization of the Conference. Regarding the bilateral parliamentary cooperation, he assessed the existence of the Groups for Cooperation in the legislatures of the two countries as an excellent foundation for development of a close parliamentary cooperation and expressed hope that soon the members of both groups will have a joint meeting. President Xhaferi pointed out that the Greek Parliament has not yet adopted the ratifications which enhance the cooperation with the Republic of North Macedonia in several areas, including European integration and asked for their ratification as soon as possible in order to be put into operation.
President Tasoulas expressed great satisfaction with this, as he called it, long-awaited first meeting at the level of Presidents of Parliaments and stressed that this confirms that the relations between the two states are advancing. He agreed that the Parliamentary Groups for Cooperation should establish and develop the parliamentary cooperation and specifically, instead of their existence remaining only on paper, and underlined that the Greek Parliament will do its best through the cooperation mechanisms available to assist the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and in the exchange of experiences in the European integration process. President Tasoulas praised the courage of the two countries in resolving difficult issues and stressed that after the acceptance of the Prespa Agreement it must be fully respected and carefully guarded.. Thereby, he paid tribute to President Xhaferi for his personal commitment and his efforts to resolve major and difficult issues. Welcoming the country’s step towards NATO membership, Tasoulas expressed confidence that the next step for the Republic of North Macedonia will be the membership in the European Union, reiterating Greece’s support for the process.
The interlocutors exchanged views on the efforts they are making as Presidents of Parliaments in order to meet their responsibilities and what has been agreed to be put into practice. They also emphasized the mutual trust as a result of which is also the agreement and cooperation between the two sides for the protection of our airspace.
At the end of the meeting, President Xhaferi extended an open invitation to his homolog Konstantinos Tasoulas to visit the Republic of North Macedonia at a time when his agenda allows it and to address the MPs in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia.