Skopje, 29 August 2023 (MIA) – The Czech Republic is an important and proven ally with which for three decades we have been building friendly and economic relations. We especially value the unequivocal and open Czech support for the Macedonian Euro-integrations and accession talks, with the goal of implementing all essential reforms and swift EU accession, said President Stevo Pendarovski, who is on official visit to the Czech Republic.

“Grateful for last year’s engagement of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as for all efforts invested by the country as part of the Visegrád Group, which are especially interesting to us due to the successful model of regional cooperation,” wrote Pendarovski in a post on Facebook.

The Macedonian and Czech society, wrote Pendarovski, are connected by strong historical and cultural links created by our citizens, while the two countries have been building friendly political and economic relations for three decades.

“At today’s meeting with President Petr Pavel we affirmed our partnership. The Czech Republic is our important and proven ally in the United Nations, in OSCE, and now in the NATO alliance as well. In the past few years, we’ve had constant growth of trade exchange as a confirmation of the continued development of our bilateral ties in several areas,” said Pendarovski in the Facebook post.

President Pendarovski kicked off his official visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday in Prague, where he was welcomed by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, with the highest state and military honors. The two presidents held a tête-à-tête meeting during which they affirmed the friendly relations between the two countries. The topics of discussion at the meeting were the Macedonian aspirations for membership in the European Union, the partnership within NATO, as well as the situation in the broader region, in the context of the war in Ukraine,

As part of his two-day visit to the Czech Republic, President Pendarovski will meet with the President of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, Miloš Vystrčil, with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Photo: President Pendarovski's Office