By Ferit Hoxha Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania.

There are moments in history when the future of a country is determined by a single document. Such agreements are rare, but their impact is felt for generations. The Ohrid Framework Agreement is one of them. On 13 August 2001, twenty-five years ago, the political leaders of North Macedonia, with the support of the European Union and the United States, signed an agreement that was, by every historical measure, to shape the course of the state for decades to come.

The Ohrid Framework Agreement remains one of the most significant political and diplomatic achievements in the modern history of our region. It demonstrated that interethnic conflicts in the Balkans would not find their resolution through force, but through dialogue, political compromise, respect for rights, and the building of institutions that give every citizen an equal place within the state. At a time when the region was still carrying the open wounds of the wars that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia, Ohrid offered a different model: not division, but coexistence; not the victory of one side over another, but compromise; not exclusion, but a transformation in the way the state is built and functions for all.

The Ohrid Agreement was, and remains, a strategic choice for peace, coexistence, and the construction of a multi-ethnic state in which differences would no longer be a source of conflict, but part of a shared political and social order. It was the decision that gave North Macedonia the opportunity not to remain hostage to its conflict, but to build a more democratic, more inclusive, and more resilient state, with a clear European perspective. Twenty-five years later, this remains Ohrid’s most important legacy and the greatest responsibility of today’s generation: to preserve what was achieved, carry its spirit forward, and make peace, coexistence, and the country’s European orientation irreversible.

Albania has never regarded the stability and prosperity of North Macedonia simply as a matter concerning another country. For us, they have always been, and remain, an integral part of the stability and security of the Western Balkans. Good relations among communities, equality, respect for identity and language, equitable representation, and the ability of every citizen to feel fully part of the state are not merely questions of principles and rights, fundamental though these are. They are also questions of peace, security, stability, and the European future of the region. This is precisely what was understood and given concrete form in Ohrid a quarter-century ago.

This is also the most important lesson that Ohrid offers the region today. Peace is not consolidated merely by ending a conflict; it becomes sustainable when it is embodied in institutions, rights, equal opportunities, and mutual trust. A peace agreement fulfils its mission not only when the guns fall silent, but when future generations no longer have reason to take them up again. By guaranteeing the rights of communities, ensuring more equitable representation in public administration, and recognising the multi-ethnic character of society, the Agreement created a new political and social equilibrium.

For precisely this reason, the Ohrid Agreement should not be viewed as a document frozen in time. It should be understood as a political compact requiring constant care and attention because it was, and remains, decisive for the future of the state: a shared commitment to a democratic, multi-ethnic, inclusive, and European North Macedonia. Preserving the spirit of Ohrid does not mean living with the memory of conflict; it means ensuring that the causes that fuelled that conflict can never again become a source of division.

In this sense, NATO membership, genuine regional cooperation, relations of friendship and good-neighbourliness, and North Macedonia’s European path are both a materialisation and a natural continuation of the spirit of Ohrid. Europe does not ask differences to disappear; it asks that they coexist within strong institutions, the rule of law, and a democracy that guarantees equality and dignity for all.

In terms of interethnic relations, the Ohrid Agreement affirmed an inalienable reality, recognised as early as 2001: Albanians are an essential part of society and a constituent part of the state of North Macedonia. Their rights are neither a concession granted by the majority nor a privilege that can be reconsidered according to the political climate of the moment. They are part of the political compact and part of the foundations upon which the democratic and multi-ethnic state rests.

The best European experiences, as well as the most positive examples in our own region, have convincingly demonstrated that a state which respects and guarantees, in law and in practice, in letter and in spirit, the identity, language, culture, and rights of its communities is a stronger state. Equally, a community that sees itself as equal and represented has more reason to regard the state as its own, to strengthen it, and to invest in its future. In this sense, Ohrid did not merely grant rights to Albanians. It changed the very way in which the state itself should be understood: not as a temporary balance between communities, but as a model of statehood in which equality and the strength of the state advance together; where diversity is regarded not as a threat, but as part of a shared identity; and where ethnic belonging does not determine the degree of one’s citizenship.

On this anniversary, one lesson remains particularly relevant. The Ohrid Agreement reminds us that peace is not a permanent given. It must be preserved and nurtured through democratic institutions, respect for diversity, and a shared vision of the future.

For Albania, the stability, security, and prosperity of North Macedonia are inseparable from the development and resilience of our entire region. Our two countries share not only borders, strategic interests, and the path towards the European Union, but also the conviction that interethnic relations based on respect and equality are the foundation upon which modern European societies are built.

Albania firmly believes that lasting peace in the Balkans is built by bringing people closer together, strengthening democratic institutions and bilateral and multilateral relations, respecting human rights, and giving society as a whole, without distinction, every reason to see its future within the same common project.

Ohrid opened this path twenty-five years ago. The task of today’s generation is to carry it forward.

This anniversary is also an opportunity to assess the extent and quality of implementation and to consider what remains to be done. The full implementation of the spirit of Ohrid remains a work in progress: this year’s debates over the use of the Albanian language in the justice system are a reminder that the rights secured in 2001 require continuous institutional attention and care, not solemn commemoration alone. The North Macedonia of today is not the North Macedonia of 2001. Society has changed. The region has changed. Europe has changed. The very meaning of security, sovereignty, and cooperation has changed as well.

Ohrid must therefore also be read in the light of this future. Preserving Ohrid means continuing to build a state in which a return to the logic of confrontation and division becomes impossible. This requires responsibility from everyone, from social groups and political elites alike. As is required of all our countries in the region, we must understand that the stability of one cannot be built upon the insecurity of another.

For Albania, the relationship with North Macedonia carries particular significance. We are neighbours, friendly countries, NATO Allies, partners in the European integration process, and part of the same Balkan space, one that knows the high price of the conflicts of the past, but also the value of genuine investment in a shared future.

Albania will continue to support the rights of Albanians wherever they live, just as it will continue to strongly support the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic functioning of the states in which they live.

These two positions are not contradictory. On the contrary, they are expressions of the same principle: the rights of communities and the strength of the state are not opposing forces. Each reinforces the other. This is an important lesson of Ohrid.

Twenty-five years after its signing, the Ohrid Framework Agreement remains foundational because it provided an answer to a fundamental question: can a common state be built in the Western Balkans while respecting different identities and making them part of its strength?

The answer provided by the history of the past twenty-five years is, undoubtedly, yes. And that answer must be demonstrated every day, through trust and sincere investment in moving the country towards its future.

A quarter-century later, perhaps the best way to honour the decision of 13 August 2001 and celebrate its achievements is not to see Ohrid simply as the agreement that ended conflict and division, but as the agreement that taught us all how to build lasting peace.