Twenty-five years ago, Macedonia stood at a historic crossroads.

The country was facing conflict, uncertainty and deep divisions. The Ohrid Framework Agreement opened a new path — a path away from confrontation and toward peace, dialogue, equality and coexistence.

The Ohrid Agreement was not simply a political document. It was an agreement that changed the foundations of the country and created a new relationship between its citizens and communities.

Twenty-five years ago, Albanians and Macedonians extended their hands to one another in order to build a new Macedonia together — a Macedonia that would be equal, democratic, peaceful and integrated into NATO and the European Union.

The Agreement was made possible through dialogue and compromise, with the strong involvement and guarantees of the United States and the European Union.

Together, we changed the Constitution and adopted the normative part of the Ohrid Agreement. We established the legal framework for the use of the Albanian language, fair and adequate representation, higher education, the recognition of the rights of communities and many other important reforms.

These achievements have transformed our country. North Macedonia became a member of NATO, and its European path became an essential part of its strategic orientation. We should remember that none of these achievements came easily. They were the result of political courage, international engagement and, above all, the decision of the people of this country to choose peace over conflict. The Ohrid Agreement saved the country from a possible tragedy.

It created the conditions for Albanians and Macedonians, together with all the other communities, to build a common future. But Ohrid cannot be regarded as a document that belongs only to the past.

Ohrid is not an administrative checklist that can simply be completed and placed in an archive. It is a living political and constitutional framework. Its principles must continue to be respected and protected. The question today is therefore not only what we have achieved during these twenty-five years. The question is also whether we are prepared to protect those achievements and whether we will allow the foundations that have kept the country stable for twenty-five years to be weakened.

There are serious signals that we must not ignore. Attacks on the official use of the Albanian language, the weakening of fair and adequate representation, the erosion of mechanisms designed to prevent majoritarianism, and the promotion of a monoethnic concept of the state are developments that must concern every citizen. Any attempt at overriding, domination or marginalization is not simply a return to the period before 2001. It represents a danger to peace itself.

We must understand that equality is not a privilege granted to one community by another. Equality is the foundation of the state. The future of North Macedonia belongs equally to Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and all other citizens and communities.

Our diversity should not be considered a weakness. It is one of our greatest strengths. We have demonstrated that people who once stood on opposite sides of a conflict can sit at the same table, negotiate, compromise and build institutions together. This is the real legacy of Ohrid. The younger generations must inherit a country that is more democratic, more prosperous and more European than the country we inherited twenty-five years ago.

We must therefore continue on the European path. Our future is in the European Union. Our NATO membership has demonstrated that Euro-Atlantic integration is possible when there is political determination and a clear strategic vision. European integration should unite us, not divide us.

The same principle applies to economic development. We need stronger institutions, better education, greater employment opportunities, modern infrastructure and a stronger economy. But economic development cannot replace political equality. A country cannot be truly prosperous if some of its citizens feel excluded or marginalized. Peace is not merely the absence of weapons.

Peace means equality, justice, dignity and the confidence that every citizen belongs to the state. Twenty-five years after Ohrid, we have a responsibility to preserve what was achieved and to continue building upon it.

We should not return to the language of confrontation. We should not allow nationalism to become a political instrument for division.

We should not permit the country to be divided into communities that merely live next to one another. We must build a society in which communities live with one another and for one another. The Ohrid Framework Agreement gave us the opportunity to build such a society. Our responsibility is to make that opportunity a permanent reality. Twenty-five years ago, we chose peace.

Today, we must choose equality.

We must choose coexistence.

We must choose democracy.

We must choose Europe.

And above all, we must choose a common future. The future of North Macedonia must belong to all of its citizens. That is the true meaning of Ohrid.