Macedonia hosts Southeast Europe Summit for Development of Cooperation

The two-day Southeast Europe Summit for Development of Cooperation began Thursday in Skopje, the MIA news agency reported. "All countries in our Region are headed by leaders and structures that promote friendship and cooperation and are committed to the same values and goals," Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski said at the opening address. The shared goal of becoming part of the European Union strengthened the need for comprehensive cooperation and partnership among the countries in the region, Crvenkovski said. "The economic efficiency of any country in the region will improve if larger and more comprehensive market is created by way of regional economic cooperation," Crvenkovski added. The summit is co-sponsored by Cervenkovski and the commissionerfor enlargement of the European Commission Olli Rehn. Bulgarian President Georgi Prvanov, Croatian President Stipe Mesic, Albanian Prime Mnister Fatos Nano, head of UN mission in Kosovo Soren Jesen Petersen and representatives from some regionalorganizations and institutions attended the summit.