Timço Mucunski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia, said that the countries of the region do not have a common memory of their common history, but cooperation should be made in line with common views and projects.
A panel titled “Achieving Peace in the Balkans: Dialogue, Business World and Connectivity” was held within the scope of Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) 2026, held at the NEST Congress Center in Belek Tourism Region, where Anadolu Agency (AA) is the “Global Communication Partner”.
In the panel moderated by Regional Cooperation Council (BKK) Secretary General Amer Kapetanovic, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the European Union (EU) Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Ervin Ibrahimovic, Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Duric, North Macedonia Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Mucunski, Albanian Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha, Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konakovic, Kosovo First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs. and Diaspora Minister Glauk Konjufca and Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Undersecretary Frano Matusic were speakers.
Pointing out the importance of ADF, Bozay stated that there was participation from all over the world, including the Balkans, and that many issues were discussed in the forum.
Touching on the importance of the Balkan Peace Platform, Bozay said, “The Balkans should be able to use its capacity through projects and joint activities.” He made his evaluation and emphasized that this period is the right time for the Balkans.
Ibrahimovic stated that factors such as trust, prosperity and implementation are important in ensuring peace in the Balkans and said, “As Montenegro, we attach importance to 3 items. These are good relations with neighbors, support for regional formations and the EU membership process. In this context, we hope that Montenegro will become an EU member by 2028.” he said.
Duric also pointed out the importance of implementing more concrete projects in the region and stated that efforts to prevent brain drain are also important for the region.
Stating that the term “Balkanization” should be replaced by cooperation, Duric noted that Serbia always acts with the aim of solving problems.
Duric stated that many situations in the Balkans are associated with emotionality and said, “First of all, we must educate our children correctly. I have three daughters and I teach them that we must respect every people in the region equally. We have all experienced bad days in the region in the past, but I believe that we must look to the future.” he said.
Joint project emphasis from North Macedonia
Mucunski, on the other hand, emphasized that Türkiye is carrying out extremely important work in the field of diplomacy and stated that his country is planning a new regional formation on electricity production.
Stating that the countries in the region have a common view on issues such as energy and digitalization, Mucunski said, “We have different approaches to history and trust in the region. We do not and will not have a common memory of our common history. However, we can and should work on our common views and projects.” he used his words.
Hoxha also emphasized the importance of establishing partnership relations beyond neighborly relations in the region and said, “We do not all have to agree with everything, but we should be able to listen to each other. We should look at the vision instead of tactics. Lack of dialogue will lead us to insecurity, and we do not want that in the region.” he said.
A message from Bosnia and Herzegovina not to dwell on the past
Konakovic said that the region needs new and brave leaders and said, “If you have noticed recently, war is being talked about in the Balkans again. Therefore, we need leaders who will overcome the problems of the past and build trust in the Balkans.” he said.
Emphasizing that Serbia and Serbia are two countries that do not like each other, Konakovic said, “We cannot sit down and just talk about the problems now. Our people are leaving their countries. That is why I think we need to cooperate together. We do not have to trust each other, but we have to respect each other.” he said.
Konakovic emphasized that one should not dwell on the past to talk about peace in the region.
Konjufca also pointed out the necessity of strong cooperation in the region and said, “We have very good relations with Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro. We have an average relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also have problematic relations with Serbia.” made his assessment.
Stating that, as a country that has experienced war in the past, Kosovo is the one that supports peace and stability in the region the most, Konjufca said that he was pleased that they had the opportunity to address many issues on a platform such as ADF.
Matusic also stated that the issue of connectivity in the region is extremely important and evaluated that the key factor in the region is dialogue.
