A country with an educated youth has a bright future too - a future in which peace, stability and prosperity prevail, Defense Minister Fatmir Besimi stated Thursday at a student conference titled "Macedonia's NATO Integration and New Security Challenges" held in Skopje.

It is extremely important this topic to be discussed with young people, with students - the future of Macedonia, because "the country belongs in the Euro-Atlantic community and its citizens want peace in the country and beyond."

"This can be achieved by meeting high standards and respecting each other and diversities, which should be our advantage. We must be not only a part of the global peace, but also contributors to peace," Besimi said at the conference held under the auspices of the Defense Ministry in cooperation with the Military Academy, Faculty of Security, Faculty of Philosophy and Euro-Atlantic Council of Macedonia.

"Macedonia's contribution to world peace is praised by NATO. It reflects the image of Macedonia and its citizens. But it is also your epithet as a future generation," DM Besimi stated.

Dutch ambassador to Macedonia Marriet Schuurman said that "the young people of today are the leaders of tomorrow. "Young generations are not preoccupied with the past and prejudices and they must look though a new prism in order to see the new perspectives for a better future," she stressed.

She informed that the Netherlands' role of a NATO Contact Point Embassy for Macedonia would be handed over to Turkey in January 2013.

The conference aims at encouraging young people to research, debate and offer fresh ideas on topics related to Macedonia's integration process to NATO.