Today the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia responsible for European Affairs, Dr Fatmir Besimi, met the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, Aldo Bumci, who is on an official visit to Macedonia.

During the meeting, the interlocutors exchanged opinions on the bilateral cooperation between the two neighbouring countries and deemed it to be at a high level, allowing for the possibility, however, to further extend it to all spheres that are of common interest.

Deputy Prime Minister Besimi referred to the measures and activities undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia relating to its EU-integration process, in particular those concerning the High-Level Accession Dialogue following the Spring Report of the European Commission on the country’s progress.

The EU-integration process was acknowledged to be of a crucial importance for maintaining peace and stability and fostering the development of the region, and in this context, the interlocutors welcomed the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, which represents a significant contribution to promoting the Euro-Atlantic perspective of all the countries in the region.

Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Besimi and Minister Bumci emphasised that the European perspective of Balkan countries is a process which contributes to the promotion of democratic processes and good neighbourly relations. Hence, Besimi stated that Macedonia is at all times prepared to participate in and support all regional cooperation initiatives contributing to the further strengthening of the relations between the countries in the region.

Besimi and Bumci stressed the importance of the progress of both countries in the process of their integration to the European Union and expressed their willingness to deepen the current bilateral cooperation and intensify it through the exchange of EU-integration experiences. In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Besimi expressed his willingness that Macedonian institutions share their experience in this process with their Albanian counterparts.

At the end of the meeting, the two officials mentioned the possibilities for promoting the cooperation concerning the usage of funds under IPA Component 2, taking into consideration the fact that such projects would contribute to the improvement of living conditions for the citizens of the two countries inhabiting the border areas.