Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr promised that Australia will keep better relations with FYROM in the future. He also pledged that if the Labor Party stays in power, he personally will visit Skopje.
However, he refrained from answering a question whether Canberra will recognize the country by the name Republic of Macedonia, which Greece vehemently opposes.
Carr made the statements during a gala dinner organized in Sydney by the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD). During the event Carr was presented with a Macedonia Friendship Award for his support for the upgrading of the bilateral relations of the countries.
Stephen Jones MP, the federal member for Throsby, was also awarded along with Luke Simpkins. The organizers of the event called, among others, Australia to recognize FYROM with its constitutional name as well they asked for a Australian Embassy to be opened at Skopje.