Hristijan Mickoski Travels to US for Washington Meetings and UN General Assembly

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski departed today with a government delegation for the United States, where his schedule includes meetings in the Senate, the US Congress and the State Department, as well as talks with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and leading think-tanks.

The delegation’s first stop is Washington; afterwards they will travel to New York to take part in this year’s United Nations General Assembly.

Agenda and planned contacts

Speaking in a recent televised interview, Mickoski said he already has a number of confirmed meetings on the margins of the General Assembly. He added that the delegation will prioritise contacts with representatives from neighbouring countries while also attempting bilateral talks with delegations from Gulf states.

“In principle, we focused on the neighbourhood, of course, there is that reception, naturally, by the President of the United States. We will try to hold bilateral meetings also with countries from the Gulf, where we believe we need to build good and solid partnership relations,” he said.

When asked whether a meeting with the Bulgarian delegation was on the agenda, the prime minister replied that such a meeting is not planned at this time.

Asked about the government’s stance on Bulgaria’s condition for constitutional amendments and the guarantees issue, Mickoski said the administration keeps a steady policy and will not change its position overnight.

“We do not change our positions instantly or overnight, because when we build a position, it is a process that takes a long time. We anticipate everything we can at that moment, so our positions are multilayered; they are not positions we build ad hoc and then change as needed. We do not make such showy moves; we pursue a clear policy that offers longer-term guarantees. That is the strategy this Government has,” he said.

In a separate recent interview with an American outlet, Mickoski also said he hopes to meet US President Donald Trump either at the White House or on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York.

Photo: Printskrin