Representatives of the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations, led by State Secretary Vladimir Stojanovic, held a meeting today with representatives from the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities at the OSCE, marking the start of work on the “Strategy for the Development of Interculturalism and Social Cohesion 2027–2032” with an Action Plan. The preparation of the Strategy is being carried out in accordance with a conclusion adopted at the 129th session of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.

The process will be carried out in cooperation with the Agency for Community Rights Realization, with significant support from the OSCE Mission in Skopje and the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities, thereby ensuring conditions for the high-quality and timely implementation of the planned activities.

The preparation will take place in two phases. In the first phase, the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations will establish inter-institutional cluster working groups, which will prepare a report on the level of implementation of the current strategy (2024–2026), based on five clusters: institutions, education, media, social cohesion, and intercultural policies. For this purpose, the Ministry has already appointed individuals responsible for preparing the reports, and official letters have been sent to the relevant institutions to nominate representatives for the cluster working groups. At the same time, an assessment of citizens’ needs and perceptions regarding interethnic relations will be conducted through questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews, for which a domestic expert will be engaged. The activities of the first phase are expected to be completed by the end of September 2026.

In the second phase, five domestic experts (one for each cluster) will be engaged, along with an additional lead expert, who together with the working groups will work on the preparation of the final text of the Strategy.