The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, within the official visit to the Republic of Moldova, met today with the Moldovan Prime Minister, Mr. Pavel Filip, and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Andrian Candu.

The meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, commended the friendly relations between the two countries and expressed interest in intensifying the overall bilateral cooperation. President Ivanov and the Moldovan Prime Minister considered the possibilities for boosting economic cooperation by utilizing the existing potentials and by improving the contractual framework between the two countries.

President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia supports the European perspectives of the Republic of Moldova and the implementation of the Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU, which includes provisions for a comprehensive free trade agreement. The Macedonian President expressed openness for exchange of experiences regarding the European Union and readiness for mutual assistance. The meeting also exchanged views on similar challenges relating to the European Union that the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Moldova face as two small countries.

The interlocutors welcomed the cooperation in the area of home affairs, judiciary, health, education and science, culture, agriculture, transport and communications, labor and social policy and local self-government and encouraged the institutions to initiate new contents and implement joint projects.

At the meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Andrian Candu, President Ivanov expressed hope that the cooperation between the institutions of both countries in the future will be enhanced in the function of enriching the cooperation contents on a bilateral, regional and multilateral level.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the current political developments in the Republic of Macedonia and in the Republic of Moldova, as well as on the challenges the Southeast Europe region is facing. A common conclusion was that peace, stability and security of the region are crucial for the entire European continent. For this purpose, it is necessary to strengthen regional cooperation and strengthen mutual trust and support, President Ivanov said at the meeting.

President Ivanov stressed that strategic goals of the Republic of Macedonia are the European Union and NATO. Regarding the European perspectives of Moldova, President Ivanov reaffirmed the interest and political will of the Republic of Macedonia for sharing the European experiences and the course of the reform processes with Moldova.

The Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament welcomed the determination of the Republic of Macedonia to provide an excellent business climate for foreign investment. He pointed out that his country is striving to create institutional trust and reforms in the justice system. In that direction, the Moldovan Speaker stressed the need for sharing experience between the parliaments of both countries aimed at increasing the bilateral exchange.

Moldova has been part of NATO's partnership program since 1994, and in 2014, the Republic of Moldova and the EU signed an Association Agreement, with provisions of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

Within the official visit to the Republic of Moldova, President Ivanov had a meeting today with the Metropolitan Vladimir Kantaryan of Chisinau and of all Moldova.

This is the first official visit of a Macedonian President to the Republic of Moldova. Yesterday in Chisinau, President Ivanov had a meeting with the President of Moldova, Mr. Igor Dodon.