FM Osmani at Conference “Young People, Migration and the Demographic Crisis in the Western Balkans”

Jerusalem, 29 October, 2020 (TPS) -- Skopje, 28 October 2020 (MIA) – As responsible politicians from the region we must create the conditions for young people to embrace and lead the wave of changes in their respective countries so that we become a competitive part of Europe. We believe in the European values, which means faith in stability, security and strong institutions that we will build together with the youth, for a better future, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani in the opening remarks at the video-conference “Young People, Migration and the Demographic Crisis in the Western Balkans” on Wednesday.

FM Osmani took part in the conference at the invitation of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in the framework of Germany’s EU Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

Osmani said the region is changing and young people should be the generators of those changes.

“There is no better message about our future than to hear young people being encouraged to actively take part in the creation of their own future in the region and Europe,” added Osmani.

The stability and development of the Western Balkans is high on the agenda of the German EU Presidency, and the objective is to achieve fast and visible progress of people in the region. The conference is a platform for discussion and ways to find solutions to mitigate the process of Western Balkans brain drain, to analyze the causes, but also give strong political focus on this important issue.

The conference included the participation of European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, the six Western Balkans FMs, as well as representatives of the Regional Cooperation Council and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office-RYCO, reads the press release.