Notes upon my arrival in Macedonia

I am not sure whether Macedonia’s Head of Diplomatic Protocol has ever gone to meet a newly arriving Ambassador at the airport and been greeted first by two incredibly excited children who just had to show him all their toys, but he was so professional you would have thought it happens every time!  The warmth I and my family have been shown in Macedonia has continued ever since.

In the best of ways it seems so much longer than 6 weeks since I arrived and I already have memories that will remain.  The credentials ceremony and introductory conversation with President Ivanov in the historic Villa Biljana overlooking Ohrid.  My first meetings with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Deputy PM Bujar Osmani, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Defence Radmilla Shekerinska, Speaker of Parliament Talat Xhaferi, and leaders of the two major political parties DUI’s Ali Ahmeti and opposition VMRO-DPMNE Hristijan Mickoski. They each give me their own crash course in the name issue, reforms, relations with the neighbours, the country’s priorities and challenges and some must-tries from Macedonia’s cuisine and cultures.  I feel privileged to be given such a welcome by Macedonia’s leaders.

And it is fantastic to inherit such a capable Embassy team.  Filled with enthusiasm for their work and with a depth of experience and expertise.  They are all keen to tell me what it is that they do and how we work together to deliver the UK government agenda for Macedonia. Policy, programmes, corporate, finance, logistics, drivers, defence, security, human rights, media, civil society, consular links… the list keeps growing. I am excited to lead such a team to drive forward UK-Macedonia relations and cooperation.

As a family we are also building memories of Macedonia’s beauty and variety.  We have taken a boat ride through the cool, fresh air and serenity of the famous Matka Canyon (and promised my son he will get to come back and do the rapids in a kayak!).  We have also enjoyed the beaches in Ohrid and Struga where we could not cover more than 100 metres in an hour because the kids had to look at every butterfly and wildflower.  We are all enjoying the different local delicacies although we may need to slow down on that.  We are a little worried about the size we will be if we keep trying them all!

We have arrived in Macedonia in a truly exceptional moment. Following the conclusion of the Prespa Agreement by the Macedonian and Greek governments the citizens of Macedonia have the chance to have a say at a referendum what kind of Macedonia they would like to live in.

But the UK-Macedonia relationship goes much deeper than this one issue. This year we are marking 25 years from when we formally established diplomatic relations. Our policy and programme portfolio spans working with Parliament and political parties, helping the Government-led reform agenda, defence transformation, security sector reform, efficiency of judiciary, strengthening civil society and media and strengthening the business relationship.

I truly hope that in the next few years I will have the opportunity to meet many of the diverse and interesting people from across Macedonia and to work with you on the issues that are important for both UK and Macedonia. And I need your advice on the issues above, on how we can work better together and on how my family and I can experience Macedonia from the places to visit to its food and customs.  Let me know via my twitter @RGallowayUK or in the comments sections below.

Thank you for the warm welcome.