Skopje, 31 March 2022 (MIA) – Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski addressed a conference on “Private sector expectations of the new government during a healthcare and energy crisis”, organized by the Delegation of the German Economy in North Macedonia and the Macedonian-German Business Association in Skopje on Thursday. “Foreign investments are important for the country’s economic development, and German investments, as well as European, are crucial. We are a NATO member, also committed to EU membership, so investors know they have security and a predictable business environment. In fact, that is our advantage over some of the countries in the region,” said Kovachevski. He added that the country has realized 79 percent of capital investments in 2021, and the same pace continues into 2022. “The pandemic has revealed the weaknesses, and we have seen that Europe faced great challenges when supply chains are in distant countries. Many things can be produced in Europe, which also means cost savings. North Macedonia will make use of this, and that is why we are creating an environment for new investments,” the Prime Minister said. Kovachevski noted that the economic cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany is at an extremely high level, and Germany is traditionally North Macedonia’s first trading partner, with a large number of direct investments. “Recently the Delegation of the German Economy in North Macedonia informed about the positive trends and a record increase in trade between the two countries last year amounting to EUR 4.7 billion, i.e. an increase of 23.6 percent compared to 2020. Export from North Macedonia to Germany increased by 24.8 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, while import from Germany to North Macedonia increased from EUR 1 billion to EUR 1.2 billion, i.e. a 20.6 percent increase,” said Kovachevski. He underlined that in terms of the economy the Government has three priorities – dealing with the effects of the global energy crisis and the military crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, economic development, and realization of capital investments. German Ambassador to North Macedonia Anke Holstein pointed out that Germany is by far the country’s most important economic partner, adding that the economy in Europe, in Germany and in North Macedonia is hit hard by the effects of the war in Ukraine, as supply chains are broken, and prices of commodity, energy and many products are out of control. “Together we’ll continue to nurture it, so that those who are already here work successfully, as well as to further promote North Macedonia as an investment destination,” said Ambassador Holstein. She added that North Macedonia has an additional security bonus as NATO member, which wouldn’t have been the case without the Prespa Agreement, and in that sense she mentioned the expectation to move forward on the path to EU. “You’re working intensively with your Bulgarian counterpart. The new dynamics sets the right direction. On the path of your country’s accession to the EU, you can rely unconditionally on German support, as Chancellor Scholz assured you during your meeting in Brussels last week. The enlargement policy is a security policy more than ever,” Ambassador Holstein said.