Distinguished Ambassador of the People's Republic of China,

Distinguished representatives of Huawei,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor to speak to you at the closing ceremony of the program "Seeds for the future" of Huawei – Macedonia. This program is one of the fruits of the excellent cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the People's Republic of China.

Dear friends,

Many say that 21st century will be the century of China. But, they are saying anything new. Most of the centuries belonged to China, with exception of the 19th British and 20th American century. In 2050, when China will be the largest economy in the world, she will only regain the status she had up until 1820.

Today, China is only picking the fruits whose seeds were planted a long ago.

The First seed of the Chinese success is in the "Book of changes". According to this book of folk wisdom, the change is the only unchangeable thing in the world. Every human should strive to understand the nature of the changes, if he wants to act properly in a particular situation. He should adjust to the changes, and not the contrary.

The Second seed has been planted by Laozi, the founder of Taoism. Laozi says: "Not knowing is true knowledge, and presuming to know is sickness". That means that a man should have an open mind that will enable him to accept new knowledge and to recognize the opportunities for its application.

The Third seed of the Chinese success has been planted by Confucius. He advocated for rule based on virtue, not on strength. Confucius divided people by knowledge, and not by their position or race. Knowledge is not the same as lore. The lore is a moral category and assumption for good governance.

Thanks to these three seeds, today, The People's Republic of China is more a continent than it is a country. At the moment, in China lives 1/5 of the humankind and if it was organized like Europe it should have been separated in 90 states. At the moment, Chinas has 11 cities with more than six million inhabitants. There is only one city like this in Europe – London. China has the most numerous labor force in the world, of around 800 million workers. Until 2035, China will use 1/5 of the global energy. China is a major investor and soon she will exceed Germany regarding new patents. Here, we can add that China has an accelerated industrialization and urbanization.

All this is a result of learning from ours and the mistakes of others, adjusting to changes and the strive to lead a good life, a life in harmony and a life with meaning.

Dear scholars,

As the President of the Republic of Macedonia, but also as a university professor, I will always encourage the students to learn and to award themselves. I am honestly glad that you took the opportunity that our partners from Huawei offered to you with the program "Seeds for the future". The program that enabled you to expand your knowledge and skills in the area of information – communication technologies. This is especially important today, in our hyper – connected world of global and dynamic economy, exposed to constant changes, challenges and opportunities.

Huawei gives an example of Social Responsibility, and not just for this program. I would like to remind you that in 2014, Huawei was the main sponsor of the Training for Young Leaders that we organize every year in Ohrid. Thanks to the financial support of donors like Huawei, 40 talented and ambitious young people every year are perfecting their leadership skills and are going through intensive and qualitative training held by renowned lecturers from the world. Therefore, I avail this occasion to thank Huawei and other donors for the support.

I am convinced that the seeds that were planted, will bring rich harvest in the future, for you and for the Republic of Macedonia and our relations with the People's Republic of China. And the future is guaranteed because every fruit is in the same time a seed that waits to be planted.

Thank You.