Gashi in Washington: We are committed to maintaining security in the Western Balkans

Gashi in Washington: We are committed to maintaining security in the Western Balkans

The Speaker of the Parliament of North Macedonia, Afrim Gashi, is on a working visit to Washington, USA, where he has held a series of meetings with senior representatives of American institutions and international organizations, in the context of strengthening bilateral relations and inter-parliamentary cooperation.

As announced by his cabinet, Gashi met with United States Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, co-chair of the North Macedonia Caucus in Congress.

“During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the strategic partnership between North Macedonia and the United States, based on shared democratic values, as well as the importance of the role of the US Congress in the development and stability of the region. President Gashi emphasized North Macedonia’s commitment as a NATO member, while underlining the importance of American leadership in maintaining Euro-Atlantic security, especially in the Western Balkans.”

“During the visit, the Speaker of the Parliament also held meetings with leaders of international organizations that have been supporting the democratic processes and institutional development of the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia for years, respectively the IRI and NDI.”

“In the meeting with Mr. Daniel Twining, President of the International Republican Institute (IRI), and Mr. Stephen Nix, Director for Europe and Eurasia, the cooperation to date and the strategic dialogue between North Macedonia and the USA were discussed. Also, in a meeting with Ms. Tamara Wittes, President of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Mr. Scott Bates, Regional Director for Europe and Asia, we discussed the value of long-term cooperation between the Assembly and NDI.”

“Gashi expressed gratitude for the projects in strengthening parliamentary independence and capacities, digitalization, transparency and bringing the Assembly closer to citizens, including the Parliamentary Support Program, which over the years has yielded tangible results,” the announcement states.

It is further emphasized that in all meetings, Gashi highly appreciated the continued support of American partners for the advancement of democratic standards, reaffirming the readiness of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia to continue and deepen cooperation in order to strengthen democracy, stability and better representation of citizens.