About 50 ministers and senior officials from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries took part in the forum which began yesterday.
NATO's goal is to include all Balkan countries within its ranks after they meet the required standards and criteria, which also refers to the Adriatic group, while Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro must also fully cooperate with the Hague war crimes tribunal, Scheffer said at the plenary session.
He added that the success of the region's Euro-Atlantic integration depended also on a swift solution to the Kosovo issue in accordance with UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari's plan.
Asked by the press after the meeting if the Balkan countries were becoming Kosovo's hostages, Scheffer said that the Kosovo issue was not crucial but was significant.
In a panel held on Afghanistan, Croatian Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic highlighted Croatia's active role in the provision of peace and stability in that country through the ISAF mission.
The Ohrid meeting also included a panel on the future of the Balkans. The region's countries have to provide for a better life by meeting EU and NATO standards, it was said.
The Partnership Commission of the US-Adriatic Charter met in Ohrid yesterday to discuss NATO enlargement.
The US supports the accession to NATO of the Charter's countries - Croatia, Albania and Macedonia, said the US ambassador to the alliance, Victoria Nuland.
The Charter's countries yesterday also met representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia for talks on security in the region and the Euro-Atlantic prospects of new Partnership for Peace countries.
Yesterday, Grabar-Kitarovic held bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers Lulzim Basha of Albania and Urmas Paet of Estonia, while today she met Vuk Jeremic of Serbia, Adrian Cioroianu of Romania, and Jan Kubis of Slovakia.