Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timco Mucunski said that in the conditions of the modern economy, diplomatic ties must increasingly be turned into concrete economic opportunities.
In his opening remarks at the event “Turning Sustainability into Competitiveness: Building Resilient Businesses in an Uncertain World,” organized by the UN office in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said that the task of the state is not to replace the private sector, but to build an environment in which entrepreneurship, knowledge, and capital produce new value. According to him, within this framework, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is actively advancing economic diplomacy as a practical instrument to support Macedonian companies.
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Mucunski underlined that the country’s diplomatic network should focus on tangible results, such as opening new markets, attracting investments, promoting exports, creating links between companies, and informing them in a timely manner about changes in global markets.
He stressed that the main message is clear: new standards should not be treated only as a burden, but as an opportunity for modernization, the introduction of new technologies, increased productivity, and entry into new markets.
Speaking about current developments, Mucunski said that the time we live in is characterized by rapid geopolitical, economic, and technological changes. According to him, damaged supply chains, energy insecurity, climate challenges, and new regulatory policies are shaping a new reality for business.
“The question is no longer whether there will be change. The question is whether we will be prepared to turn those changes into a competitive advantage. Every crisis brings risks, but it also opens space for new ideas, new markets, new technologies, and new business models. The opportunity will be seized by those companies and economies that recognize the new rules of the game in time,” the minister said.
He also recalled that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Seville in 2025, sent a clear message: global development goals cannot be achieved without a strong and active role of the private sector.
According to Mucunski, companies are the main drivers of innovation, the creation of new jobs, and sustainable economic growth. For this reason, he said that today’s forum represents an opportunity to discuss how sustainability can be turned into a real foundation for greater productivity, stronger competitiveness, and more sustainable growth.
He noted that European markets are already setting new standards and that for Macedonian companies, especially those oriented toward exports, it is becoming increasingly important not only what they produce, but also how they produce it.
Mucunski said that responsible management, energy efficiency, transparency, digitalization, and sustainable business practices are becoming fundamental conditions for success in European and global markets. He added that, as a small and open economy strongly integrated into European value chains, the country cannot regard these changes as distant processes, because they are already part of business reality. According to him, for this reason the Government is taking concrete steps to create a stable and predictable framework for green and economic transformation, with the aim of enabling companies to invest more easily, introduce innovations more quickly, and strengthen their competitiveness more successfully.
He added that a resilient company is not only one that manages to withstand a crisis, but one that emerges from it stronger, more organized, more competitive, and more ready for the next challenge.
In conclusion, Mucunski said it is encouraging that a growing number of Macedonian companies are investing in energy efficiency, digitalization, innovation, and modern management models. According to him, these investments are delivering concrete results, such as lower costs, higher productivity, increased investor confidence, and a stronger market position. He stressed that it is particularly important for this transformation to be accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises as well, which he described as the pillar of the Macedonian economy. For this, he said, coordinated support is needed from institutions, chambers of commerce, the financial sector, and international partners, although the main agents of change remain the companies themselves.
