Skopje, 4 May 2023 (MIA) – Prof. Dr. Nano Ruzhin, Prof. Dr. Trifche Sandev, Dr. Aleksandar Iomin and Dr. Aleksandar Vaslievski were presented Thursday with the 2023 Goce Delchev State Award for exceptional achievement in the field of science of state interest.

Minister of Education and Science Jeton Shaqiri addressed the award ceremony, stating that the national budget for scientific research has been doubled in 2022 and 2023 compared to previous years. Shaqiri added that the creation of appropriate policies and the adoption of measures for the development of science, as well as greater investment in science, are the country’s priorities.

“The largest distribution of the Budget has been aimed at financing scientific research projects in support of the research infrastructure in academy and public research institutions,” said Shaqiri.

The President of the Award Committee, Academician Ljupcho Kocarev, said that research has been completely marginalized in the country and reduced beneath the necessary minimum.

“Thirty years after the declaration of its independence, Macedonia is once again an enslaved country, protectorate… choose any of these terms, and you will not be wrong, and the ones to blame for this are the Macedonian politicians of the past 30 years,” said Kocarev.

The Goce Delchev State Award was first presented in 1949, with the first recipient being Blazhe Koneski. The event was attended by the Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska, Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Local Self-Government Risto Penov and Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska.

Photo: Darko Popov