OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities supports North Macedonia’s ongoing efforts towards One Society for All

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov expressed his support for North Macedonia’s ongoing efforts towards developing its strategy of One Society for All as an effective framework to help improve social cohesion.

During his three-day visit to the country, the High Commissioner had the opportunity to congratulate Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski on his new role. They also discussed matters related to strengthening the cohesion of North Macedonia’s multi-ethnic society.

Abdrakhmanov also met with President Stevo Pendarovski; Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani; First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Political System, Inter-Community Relations Artan Grubi; Speaker of the Parliament Talat Xhaferi; Director of the Agency for Communities Rights Realization Eran Kurtish; and National Coordinator for Interculturalism, One Society, Cultural Development and Inter-Sectorial Cooperation Robert Alagjozovski. In those meetings, Abdrakhmanov discussed best practices pertaining to diversity governance, including the continued efforts towards implementing One Society for All, which his office supports through technical assistance to the National Coordinator for Interculturalism, One Society, Cultural Development and Inter-sector Cooperation.

Abdrakhmanov met several representatives of the Parliament’s Inter-Community Relations Committee, which consists of parliamentarians from the Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Vlach, Roma, Serbian and Bosnian ethnic communities, to hear the Committee’s views and priorities. He said the Committee has an important role in fostering cohesion by representing the interests of different communities in the country. 

The High Commissioner took the opportunity to commend the authorities for assuming the role of OSCE Chair in 2023 and offered his support as they join the OSCE Troika this year. “I am confident that this great honour will provide North Macedonia with yet another avenue to demonstrate its determination and commitment as a constructive actor and contributor to promoting OSCE commitments and principles,” he said.

During his trip, Abdrakhmanov visited, the South-East European University in Tetovo, also known locally as the “Stoel University” after the first High Commissioner on National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, who initiated the idea of establishing a multilingual higher education facility in North Macedonia.

The High Commissioner thanked Clemens Koja, OSCE Head of Mission in Skopje, for his support throughout the visit. Abdrakhmanov also expressed his gratitude for the many opportunities to exchange views on diversity governance in the country and the continuation of their offices’ close co-operation to support North Macedonia in strengthening social cohesion.