Goran Buldioski: Skopie and Sofia do not understand the strategic importance of Corridor 8

The implementation of the Corridor 8 project has been delayed by about 10-15 years. Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) and Bulgaria failed to implement it and to reap strategic benefits for both countries.

This is what Goran Buldioski, Executive Director of Open Society - Europe and Central Asia, told BGNES in an interview.

He noted that the project is much talked about both in the RNM and in Bulgaria, but for Skopie it is a very big problem not only because of the strategic importance, but also because of the huge investment, which in turn will require public procurement, and this always raises questions and attracts attention in our region.

According to him, if corridor 8 is implemented in the coming years, it will be complementary to the other projects. "I believe that we have a problem in the implementation of this project, which is not so much about money, but rather about the internal politics of both countries," Goran Buldioski explained.

He commented that the fears are related to the fact that this project might fail, it might become hostage to domestic politics and some political actors might try to block it. "At the moment I'm optimistic on the RNM side, but knowing what the politics are in the region, things could turn around," Bulldoski says. / BGNES