The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski.

At the meeting, sincere friendship and high level of relations between the two countries were reaffirmed, which in continuity are marked with positive development.

The meeting was also used to express pleasure with the Macedonian-Polish cooperation, the support given to the Republic of Macedonia concerning its EU integration process, as well as the expectation that this cooperation will continue in future.

President Ivanov underlined that he expects the European Union’s enlargement with the Balkans countries to be on the priority list during the Polish Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2011.

During the talks, President Ivanov stressed that the bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Poland are very good and there are no open issues, as well as the willingness of both sides to further intensify the relations and cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov is paying an official visit to the Republic of Montenegro. The high level of friendship and traditional cooperation between the two countries was reaffirmed at the meeting with the President of the Republic of Montenegro, Mr. Filip Vujanovic.

Montenegro has an interest the Macedonian-Greek name dispute to be resolved as soon as possible and Macedonia to soon accede to NATO and the EU because that would be beneficial for the entire region, said the Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic, after meeting with the Head of the Macedonian state, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov in Podgorica.

The two presidents, at the meetings during the official visit of President Ivanov to Montenegro, reaffirmed the excellent bilateral relations, noting that there are no open issues between the two countries.
We have experienced the visit of President Ivanov as a meeting between two friendly states that have no open issues, but only open future cooperation. We stated and encouraged the excellent relations at all levels. It is important that a number of agreements on cooperation are in a final stage, such as the arrangements relating to the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union and the agreement on protection of investments, President Vujanovic said after the meeting.
He emphasized the excellent cooperation of the ministries of interior and foreign affairs and defence and the signed agreements for future cooperation. Since October this year, President Vujanovic said, based on the signed agreement, cadets from Montenegro are studying at the Military Academy in Skopje. However, the economic cooperation should be promoted, and therefore, main precondition for this is to improve the traffic infrastructure. Also, there is excellent cooperation on the path towards EU and NATO, said the Montenegrin President.

President Ivanov said that a period is to come in which we have to strengthen the economic cooperation. He agreed with his Montenegrin counterpart that the problem lies in the under-developed infrastructure in the region.
Priority of both countries is their accession to the EU and NATO. Thus, in this regard, we can share our experience which may be beneficial for Montenegro. In terms of NATO and EU membership, we have fulfilled all obligations; however, due to the name dispute with Greece, we are not yet part of these two organizations. Europe should apply equal treatment to all candidate countries and same approach as in the case of Slovenia and Croatia, President Ivanov added.
Among the other topics of discussion, the church problems of both countries were discussed, and the two Presidents stressed that the church issues should be left to the church.

During the official visit to Montenegro, the Macedonian President met with the Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and the Speaker of the Parliament Ranko Krivokapic.
President Ivanov met in Podgorica with representatives of the Macedonian-Montenegrin Friendship Association.

The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science and CITY College, International Faculty of University of Sheffield, UK, located in Thessaloniki, have signed a Cooperation Protocol on awarding 20 “Boris Trajkovski” scholarships to the best students for two-year post-graduate studies within the MBA Programmes.

President Ivanov, at the ceremony of signing the Protocol on awarding scholarships, stated that these scholarships are part of the collective motivation and support provided by the country and the society to the best students so that they can proceed on the path to success.

President Ivanov stressed that by signing the Protocol the students will have an opportunity to advance and that this venture will have positive impact on the relations between our two societies

The Principal of CITY College, International Faculty of University of Sheffield, UK, located in Thessaloniki, Yannis Ververidis pointed out that these scholarships will enable high quality education for their beneficiaries within the MBA Programmes, which are provided for the students from the entire region.

Educating and upgrading young scientific-research individuals in the spheres offered in this programme and their consequent employment following the completion of their studies is one of the measures to prevent “human capital flight from the state” or more commonly referred to as “brain drain”, said the Minister of Education and Science, Nikola Todorov.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the letters of credence of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Republic of Macedonia, resident in Sofia, H.E. Washington Luis Pereira-se-Sousa Neto.

The newly appointed Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil expressed his satisfaction with the friendly and diplomatic relations between the two countries which were established in 1998.

Ambassador Washington Luis Pereira-se-Sousa Neto stated that during his mandate he would do everything in his capacity to further strengthen the close bilateral relations and promote the cooperation in the sphere of trade exchange, economy and culture.

President Ivanov, wishing Ambassador Washington Luis Pereira-se-Sousa Neto sincere welcome and successful execution of the responsible mission, expressed his satisfaction with the development of the relations of friendship between the two countries and extended deep gratitude for the principled usage of the constitutional name of our country by the Federative Republic of Brazil, both at bilateral and international level.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia extended his conviction for further deepening of the excellent relations at international level which will be complemented by strengthened cooperation in all spheres of common interest, particularly in the spheres of economy and culture.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, in a farewell visit, received the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, H.E. Ms. Nicole Wyrsch.
At the meeting, the President of the Republic of Macedonia extended his gratitude to H.E. Ms. Nicole Wyrsch for her contribution in the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, which resulted in the first official visit to the Swiss Confederation.
The President of the Republic of Macedonia expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation in the economic sphere, but also with the financial and technical assistance that the Swiss Confederation has been unselfishly providing to the Republic of Macedonia through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, since its independence.

The cooperation has also been intensified at multilateral level, as a result of the Swiss Chairmanship with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. President Ivanov expressed his satisfaction with the high level of friendship and cooperation between the two countries in all fields of common interest, having a great significance for the Republic of Macedonia. The huge number of Macedonian immigrants, who are more actively involved in the social life and business field structures in Switzerland, are yet another incentive to further strengthen the mutual cooperation.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, in a farewell visit, received the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, H.E. Vladimir Solotsinsky.

At the cordial meeting, the President of the Republic of Macedonia extended his gratitude to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation for his commitment in deepening the cooperation and the strategic relations between the two countries.

President Ivanov stressed at the meeting that he is satisfied with the improvement of the cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of economy, by overcoming bureaucratic obstacles that have led to new investments by LUK OIL, the completion of the clearing debt and of course the current talks on Republic of Macedonia’s joining in the project South Stream, which will contribute to long-term energy stability of the country.
The President of the Republic of Macedonia expressed his satisfaction with the initiative to sign the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement, which is in a phase of harmonization. It is an agreement which is considered as another confirmation of the cooperation between the two countries not only in the political and economic sphere but also in the spheres of culture, art and education.