Interview with Igor Ilievski, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia

Igor Ilievski was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 6th September this year. He is a career diplomat having worked in a number of Sectors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and having completed a 4-year term of office in the Macedonian Embassy in Warsaw. His job is to coordinate the Sectors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Embassies and Consulates of the Republic of Macedonia, or in short the entire professional service of the Macedonian diplomacy. A good reason for an interview with the Macedonian Diplomatic Bulletin.

MDB: Mr. Ilievski, the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at whose head you stand, has recently adopted the Strategic Review of the Ministry for the period from 2007 to 2009. Can you tell us what this document represents?

- The Strategic Review gives a picture of the Ministry today, as well as a concrete and real projection for the coming 3-year period. With this document, the vision and program of the governing team turns into concrete activities and applied policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is a crucial tool of the Ministry in carrying out its daily activities and also an opportunity for every diplomat to have in front of them the "big picture" in performing their duties. I would like to take this opportunity to extend acknowledgement to the entire staff of the Ministry for their quality and timely preparation of the aforementioned document.

- The ministries of foreign affairs have to anticipate the global challenges and to take action accordingly. The reorganization of the Ministry is in fact carried out to this end. What exactly does it involve?

- Bearing in mind the challenges you are talking about, as well as the Law on Foreign Affairs, which will come into force on 1st January 2007, working teams, coordinated by the state secretary, are carrying out the reorganization. I would not like to go into details as far as the ultimate solutions are concerned, because the process is still in progress. I would like to stress though that the new organization is aimed at promoting professionalism, efficiency, as well as accountability. The Sector for Foreign Economic Policy in particular will have to be strengthened, a nucleus of the future Diplomatic Academy will be created, while the Sector for Public Relations - whose initial project is this Bulletin - will obtain the right and deserved place in the organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

- An impression is created that the taking on of new staff and the budget are not in adherence with the extended responsibilities and needs of the diplomatic service. Your comment?

- In parallel with the economic development, as top priority of the Government, the country's financial potentials will likewise increase. The Ministry operates in circumstances of uninterrupted financial limitations and that is a fact. What I would like to promise everybody in the Ministry on behalf of Minister Milososki is that the Minister will be present at the government meeting debating the budget for 2007. I hope that we will obtain the optimum when it comes to the Ministry's financial needs.

- The premises accommodating the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also mismatched with the requirements.

- Accommodation has been the Ministry's chronicle problem over the past 15 years. Efforts are being made for seeking out a lasting solution to the accommodation issue. To this end we rented room in the building of Tehnometal, where a few sector should move in as early as December. I believe that over the next four years, funds will be provided for a permanent solution to the accommodation problem of the Ministry as well as of the Embassies and Consulates of the Republic of Macedonia.

- Gradual shift of generations is taking place in the Ministry. How does this reflect on the execution of the everyday responsibilities?

- The main reason why the young are being given the chance is the fact that knowledge, energy and motivation are the attributes making up a solid base for a young person to commit to a job with consistency and quality and, what is more important, with results. Of course this does not mean giving up experience. Youth becomes more prominent, which is in fact a natural process, but the essence rests in the symbiosis of youth and experience. The role of the state secretary consists, among other things, of seeking out the most appropriate way of realizing that symbiosis.

- You are in charge of the highest body of the Ministry, the Board, in which, in addition to people from the middle generation, there are seasoned diplomats and ambassadors. How do you cope with the great responsibility entrusted in you as both a career diplomat and a young man?

- The responsibility to head the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a great challenge. Challenges in life spring up fast and often unexpectedly. The responses should be professional and courageous. I try to combine both the aspects in my work. As for how successful I am in the process, you should ask my colleagues. After all, time will tell.