Japan will contribute €51,000 to support the WBF in organizing this high-level conference focused on fostering regional leadership, encouraging knowledge exchange, and enhancing cooperation among youth, diaspora leaders, and key stakeholders in the Western Balkans. The project aims to strengthen leadership skills, promote dialogue, and build strong people-to-people connections that will advance sustainable growth in the region and tackle regional challenges effectively.

The #LeadBalkans initiative is a part of Japan’s continued support for the Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative, which was launched by former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo in 2018. This initiative is designed to support socio-economic reforms in the Western Balkan countries toward EU accession, as well as to facilitate cooperation in the region. Japan has previously provided financial support to the WBF for projects focusing on issues such as local governance, disinformation, promoting civil society engagement, and countering challenges to regional cooperation.

In the meeting prior to the signing ceremony, Ambassador Kato and Mr. Murra discussed the importance of youth leadership in shaping the future of the region. They emphasized the role of diaspora communities and the need for young leaders to act as catalysts for positive change, tackling issues like migration, brain drain, and the region’s integration into the European Union.

Ambassador Kato reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting the youth of the Western Balkans and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with local authorities and civil society organizations. She noted that the #LeadBalkans initiative represents an important step toward developing a new generation of ethical, inclusive leaders who can navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing world in an adequate manner.

The representatives of the winning organizations were awarded the prize and a check worth up to 15 thousand Euros during an event attended by the Acting Ambassador of the European Union in Tirana Alexis Hupin, Minister of State for Youth and Children Bora Muzhaqi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Megi Fino and representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the entire region.

Since its establishment in 2017, the Fund has submitted 99 grants, with a value exceeding 1 million Euros, and has helped establish over 4,000 partnerships in the region. The supported projects have a total of 15 thousand direct beneficiaries.

The Fund, an international organization established by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, is co-financed by the European Union, through IPA Funds.

The next call of the Fund will be opened in the coming months and will be the largest so far, in financial value and number of beneficiaries. /m.m/p.s./

Foreign Minister Olta Xhaçka, EU ambassador in Tirana Luigi Soreca, ambassador of North Macedonia  Dancho Markovski and the General Director of the Western Balkans Fund Gjergj Murra highlighted in the greeting speeches they delivered on this occasion on the significance of cooperation in the region and good neighbourliness for the future of the Balkans.

Xhaçka stressed the importance of regional co-operation, but added that the Western Balkans needs to have a clear integration perspective.

“The region is changing. What was previously not possible has now become a reality that everyone can see. The Open Balkans Initiative, with its concrete actions and steps, conceived as a way to accelerate the Berlin Process, is another essential moment that shows how much we can achieve through working together”, said Xhaçka.

The director of the Fund said that, “Like Europe, the Western Balkans will not be built at once, but step by step like this one today, which brings closer the Europe we are trying to build in our countries.”

The Western Balkans Fund, an organization established by the WB6 Foreign Ministries, is a unique regional co-operation mechanism and an expression of the new spirit of co-operation that is being established in the region.

In previous calls for proposals in the region (2017-20), the WBF withdrew 890 applications from Civil Society Organizations and other parties, with a total of 3,430 organizations and over 10 thousand citizens involved./a.a/p.s./