Leaders of the Albanian American Relations Council (AARC) met Sunday morning in New York with Timčo Mucunski, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia.
The main topic of the conversation was the demand of Albanian-speaking law students for the right to take their bar exam in their native language. As Martin Vulaj, President of AARC, reported, the discussion also addressed the broader context of “the use and institutional support of the Albanian language in North Macedonia—an issue central to equality, opportunity, and long-term stability.”
AARC has been involved in a number of meetings in recent weeks with American elected officials and government representatives, as well as with leaders from the Balkans.
The Council has previously expressed its support for the protest rallies of Albanian-speaking students in the capital of North Macedonia and for their initiative.
“We agreed on the importance of addressing these challenges in a constructive and forward-looking manner and welcomed the Government’s commitment to engage directly with law students,” Mr. Vulaj wrote in a statement released after the informal meeting. “We also committed to working together to identify and implement sustainable solutions to this and other challenges—helping ensure that North Macedonia continues moving forward on its path toward greater inclusion, cohesion, and democratic development.”