Korça opens the tourist season / Mayor Filo receives the Minister of North Macedonia, Limani

2025-06-07 11:37:00, Qyteti im CNA

Korça opens the tourist season / Mayor Filo receives the Minister of

On the occasion of the official opening of the tourist season in the city of Korça, an important inter-institutional meeting between local representatives and senior representatives from North Macedonia took place today. The Mayor of Korça, Sotiraq Filo, hosted an official meeting with the Macedonian government minister, Fatmir Limani.

In his statement to the media, the Macedonian minister brought a clear message about the need to strengthen ties between the two countries, emphasizing that cooperation should move to a more institutionalized level. He announced that the possibility of opening a North Macedonian consulate in Korça is being considered, as a concrete step towards intensifying bilateral relations, with particular emphasis on the tourism sector.

" There is positive news. We will try in the future to create conditions for opening a consulate here, to appoint a consul here and to deal with it more radically, with courage and without fear in the sense of opening all doors for cooperation, both in terms of tour operators that are part of North Macedonia and part of Albania. Ultimately, even if they bring visitors here to Korça, they have nothing to lose, except for mutual benefit ," Limani said.

He emphasized that regional cooperation is the only path towards sustainable economic and cultural development, recalling the fact that Albania was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of North Macedonia.

In a broader view, he said that our countries share not only a common history, but also an extraordinary potential to build new bridges in the fields of economy, culture and tourism.

" I think that the fear and timidity part has nothing to do here, because Albania is one of the first countries to recognize the independence of North Macedonia, while other neighboring countries still have unclear and unacceptable disputes for the other side. In any case, I think it is more our mutual will to cooperate. Let's use all the assets we have, including our mutual culture, because only in this way can we move towards what is the common goal ," the Macedonian minister said.

At the end of his speech, the minister also shared a personal reflection, linking the issue of cooperation with his own family experience.

" I will end this interview with one sentence. No matter how much I tried to stop my son from living in his hometown, in Kicevo, in Macedonia, he ultimately chose Switzerland. No matter how much we try to stop visitors and tourists who claim Korça, they will come, with or without our permission. It is good that we together give them a hand, facilitate their opportunity and enable them to enjoy the rare beauties that Korça, Ohrid, Struga and other regions have ," Limani confessed.

This meeting in the Municipality of Korça comes at a time when both countries are seeking new forms of cooperation in the region, not only within the framework of European integration, but also through joint projects that affect the daily lives of citizens and promote tourism development on both sides of the border.

Korça, Ohrid, Struga and the entire surrounding area already have the potential to become an inter-Balkan tourist corridor, where visitors from the region and beyond can enjoy the culture, nature, hospitality and traditions that make these places unique./ CNA