President Plevneliev (2012-2017) was elected a member of the prestigious newly established international group "Friends of Macedonia" or "Ohrid Group". He was on a visit to Macedonia, where the Ohrid Group had a meeting with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and members of the government and a joint press conference was held. Chairman of the Group is Sir George Robertson, former Secretary General of NATO. Other members are Karl Bildt, former Swedish Prime Minister and President of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Wolfgang Ischinger, President of the Munich Security Conference, the world's most influential security forum, Javier Solana, former Secretary General of NATO and other prominent diplomats and politicians. The group will advise and assist Prime Minister Zaev and the Macedonian government for faster and more efficient integration of Macedonia with the EU and NATO. This newly formed format was announced in Skopje on April 24. This invitation is another recognition of President Plevneliev's efforts to work for the European integration of Macedonia and the countries from the Western Balkans .
