Skopje, 28 August 2022 (MIA) — North Macedonia provides support for the protection and promotion of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Macedonian community in Albania through concrete projects and cooperation, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani in a Facebook post published after his visit to Macedonians living in the Golo Brdo area in Albania. “We need to make additional joint efforts with Albania to change the working operations at the Dzhepishte–Trebishte border crossing, which would improve economic and trade cooperation in this region as well as the freedom of movement of the local population on both sides of the border,” FM Osmani said, adding that this issue had been raised as one of the most important ones for the Macedonian population in the Golo Brdo area. In his post, Osmani also gave thanks to the Albanian institutions for their excellent cooperation and support given to the Macedonian national minority in Albania. Minister Osmani's visit follows recent claims by representatives of the Macedonian community in Albania that they were facing pressure to declare themselves Bulgarians in the upcoming census, scheduled for October. mr/