Skopje, 9 September 2022 (MIA) – President Stevo Pendarovski on Friday will host his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella as part of his official visit to North Macedonia after arriving in Skopje late on Thursday. After welcoming Mattarella at the President's residence, Pendarovski and his guest will hold a working meeting after their tete-a-tete meeting, followed by a press conference. After the meeting, Mattarella will visit Parliament, where he is to meet with Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi. He will address the MPs and religious representatives in the country at a formal session. Following that, he and President Pendarovski will pay their honors at the Goce Delchev monument at the Church of the Ascension of Jesus in Skopje. The presidents have met twice so far, in November 2019 and May 2021. Premier Dimitar Kovachevski will also meet with President Mattarella and his delegation on Friday afternoon. After the planned meetings with representatives of the Italian community in the country, the President will leave the capital city in the evening hours. Sergio Mattarella was elected President of Italy in January 2015 and reelected in February 2022 with an overwhelming 75% of Assembly votes, making him the second president elected with the highest number of votes in the history of the Italian Republic. Mattarella’s visit at the highest level confirms the intensity of the relations between Italy and North Macedonia, on a political plan, given that Italy has always supported North Macedonia’s European-Atlantic ambitions and supported its developmental and institutional path with a wide set of cooperation initiatives; on a social plan, given that Italy hosts a significant Macedonian diaspora; as well as an economical and trade plan, given that Italy is our eighth trade partner with a strong upward trend. Interest in Italian culture and language is growing in this country, said the Italian Embassy in Skopje in a press release. dk/ba/sk/