Skopje, 28 March 2023 (MIA) — Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is beginning Tuesday his official visit to North Macedonia accompanied by his wife Doris Schmidauer, First Lady of Austria, in Ohrid. President Stevo Pendarovski will welcome his Austrian counterpart to Skopje on Wednesday, with the highest state and military honors, according to a press release from the President's office.

The official ceremony will be followed by a tête-à-tête meeting between the two presidents and a plenary meeting of the delegations of North Macedonia and Austria. Van der Bellen and Pendarovski will also lay wreaths at the tomb of Goce Delchev at St. Spas church in Skopje.  

Later in the day, the heads of state will address a Macedonian-Austrian economic forum on strengthening business ties between North Macedonia and Austria.

President Van der Bellen will address a session in Parliament, as well. He will also meet with Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi and Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski. mr/