The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the Minister of defence, civil protection and sport of the Swiss Confederation, Ueli Maurer.

At the meeting, the sincere friendship and high-level relations between the two countries were reaffirmed, which, in continuity, are marked with a positive development. The meeting was also used to discuss and extend satisfaction with the successfully implemented reforms, the persistence of the members of the army, as well as the support of the Swiss Confederation, thanks to which we have two distinguished and recognized centers, a communication skills training centre and a medical personnel training centre in the military-medical center.

President Ivanov underlined that the relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Swiss Confederation are very good, without any open issue, particularly in the economic cooperation, which can be further promoted. President Ivanov stressed that there is a great possibility to increase the economic cooperation between the two countries, considering the fact that the Macedonian Diaspora in Switzerland exceeds the number of 60.000. The Diaspora is certainly a binding bridge.

Minister Maurer, during the talks, extended his huge appreciation to the members of the Macedonian army, pointing out that the armies are always there for the safety of the population and expressed readiness to further improve the cooperation in the sphere of defence between the two countries.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia is on two-day official visit of the Republic of Estonia. During today’s meeting with the President of the Republic of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the high level of friendship and the mutual understanding and cooperation among the two countries was confirmed. Also, the support for Republic of Macedonia’s membership to EU and NATO was confirmed.

At the press conference, held after the meeting of the two presidents, President Ilves announced that the problem regarding the name between Macedonia and Greece should be solved on bilateral basis. “We want to see Macedonia on EU’s and NATO’s table. Our interest is the obstacles to be removed as soon as possible, so that Macedonia could become a member in these important organizations” President Ilves said, underlining that it is necessary to reach a solution in order to remove the obstacles standing in the path to EU membership.

President Ivanov stated that Estonia is a country that has always supported Macedonia in its Euro-Atlantic integration. “The Republic of Macedonia is impressed by the progress and the level of cooperation achieved by the Baltic states, not only in the Euro-Atlantic integration. We continuously underline this as a positive example for our region. I personally contribute to the enrichment of the Balkan cooperation, and to follow the positive example set by the Baltic States,” said President Ivanov and underlined that Macedonia has many tasks to finish, but that, generally speaking, the country has never been better in implementing of the reforms and criteria.

Answering a question by the journalists, on how the other ethnic communities in Macedonia view the name issue, President Ivanov said that Macedonia is a multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual community with a specific integration model. The name Macedonia unites all those who live in the area of Macedonia. Macedonia created a specific model of integration without assimilation and every community in Macedonia fulfills its rights and is loyal towards the institutions of our state. Therefore, the name Macedonia is a common issue for all, since the problem that Greece has created in terms of our name is blocking the perspective of all those who live in Macedonia, said President Ivanov.

The two presidents agreed that the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Estonia share the same values and good political relations, and agree that the economic relations, which are currently behind, should follow this example. The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov also met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia, Andrus Ansip.

Distinguished Mister Secretary General,

On the occasion of the United Nations Day, let me extend most sincere congratulations, on my personal behalf and on behalf of the Republic of Macedonia.

I avail myself of this opportunity to extend my appreciation to you and to the World Organization for the engagement and the efforts you invest in dealing with the numerous challenges humanity is being faced with. Remarkable is your dedicated work and commitment to the effective functioning of the World Organization. In this regard, I would like to assure you that in the execution of your extremely important function, you can always count on my and Republic of Macedonia’s strong and principled support.

Distinguished Mister Ban Ki-moon, I still have in pleasant memory our recent meeting in Strasbourg, where, in a friendly and open atmosphere, we talked about various topics of importance for the Republic of Macedonia, for the region of Southeast Europe and for the United Nations. As noted during our last meeting, the Republic of Macedonia remains strongly committed to the fulfillment of the objectives of the Organization, and therefore, directs its activities towards that goal.

Wishing you further success in the execution of this responsible mission, please, Mister Secretary General, accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Congratulations on the Day of our Organization!

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov is in a two-day official visit to the Republic of Serbia. At today's meeting with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Boris Tadic, President Ivanov raised the issue of access to Belgrade archive files, necessary for the process of lustration led in Macedonia. President Ivanov urged Serbia, through the process of succession and in appropriate procedures, to support the ongoing processes in Macedonia.

We tackled the issue which is rather prevalent at the moment in Macedonia, particularly concerning the succession of common archives, so that our competent institutions can address, according to the principles of succession, the authorities in Serbia where the archives of the former common state are located. Thus, they will be able to use them as documents necessary for certain ongoing processes in our country, President Ivanov said after the meeting with President Tadic.

The two Presidents assessed that the relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia are good and friendly, despite the different views on Kosovo status, and the unresolved dispute between the Macedonian and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Concerning the disagreements between the two churches, they reiterated that it is an issue to be resolved by the two churches; however, they declared their assistance in enabling an ambience for its settlement. Priority of Belgrade and Skopje, as stated, remains the European integration and the mutual assistance in this process.

We should do our best to try to resolve all open issues. We will strive Macedonia to get a date for opening negotiations with the EU, and Serbia to unblock the candidate status application, President Tadic said, pointing out that he had serious talks on the European perspectives with President Ivanov.

The two Presidents called for the Macedonian national minority in Serbia and the Serbian minority in Macedonia, to freely present the facts on their national origin at the upcoming census processes, underlining that they support them in their activities of loyalty to the countries in which they reside, as well as respect for one's own identity. They came up with concrete proposals on cultural and historical heritage protection in both countries. In this respect, President Tadic said that conditions should be created for observance of Macedonia's national holiday, August 2, at Prohor Pcinski monastery.

President Ivanov and President Tadic voiced the need of boosting the bilateral economic cooperation and in this respect underlined both the economic and political significance of completing the Corridor X project.

The two-day visit of the Macedonian President Dr. Gjorge Ivanov to the Republic of Serbia started with an official welcome at Palata Serbia. After the meeting with President Tadic, President Ivanov met with the Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and the President of the National Assembly of Serbia Slavica Djukic Dejanovic.

President Ivanov, on the second day of the official visit to the Republic of Serbia, had a meeting with the President of the opposition Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic. The overall cooperation between the two countries was discussed at the meeting. Macedonia and Serbia, despite having different positions on certain issues, should nurture close cooperation in all spheres of common interest. General conclusion from the meetings with all interlocutors is that the different positions may never be an obstacle for further cooperation.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov held talks with representatives of the National Council of the Macedonian national minority and visited the branch of the pharmaceutical company Alkaloid in Belgrade. At the end of the official visit to the Republic of Serbia, President Ivanov met with the professors from the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade.

Upon an invitation of Pelagonija Regional Development Agency – PREDA, today the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, visited Bitola and held the opening speech honoring the anniversary of this foundation that is active for ten years in the sphere of economic development of the municipalities in that region.

PREDA is an excellent example of cooperation between the state, its citizens and business. It is a private-public partnership, in which the state and the nongovernmental sector and entrepreneurs invest and work for the common welfare. Therefore, the role of the state is not to interfere in business, but to create favorable conditions for economic development, to build infrastructure for internal and external economic cooperation. Hence, at all of my official visits I am accompanied by representatives of Macedonia’s business sector, said President Ivanov at today's ceremony organized by PREDA Foundation, an agency supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. President Ivanov assessed as very important and excellent the cooperation between Macedonia and Switzerland.

Switzerland is a country that shares with us its valuable experience on local connectivity, a country - leader in the field of local engagement that results in economic success. Ten years of partnership is a confirmation of the mutual commitment of the Republic of Macedonia and Switzerland to the socio-economic development of Pelagonija region, stressed President Ivanov.

At the ceremony in Bitola, the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Macedonia, Mrs. Nicole Wyrsch confirmed that with their support "PREDA" managed to train about 1,000 professionals and enabled 38 companies from Pelagonija region to exhibit at fairs in Europe and therefore in future they will focus on projects from the sphere of economy.

The tenth anniversary since the establishment of the Regional Development Agency – PREDA was attended by the Defence Minister Zoran Konjanovski, the mayors from Pelagonija region, the Rector of St. Kliment Ohridski University and civil sector representatives.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today paid a working visit to the Municipality Kocani and met Mayor Ratko Dimitrovski, who briefed him on the implementation of the ongoing projects in the municipality.

President Ivanov visited the local primary school “Rade Kratovce” in the village Nivichani, Kochani, which was recently renovated, where 36 pupils attend the classes in the current school year. He also attended the ceremony of donating 1000 books to the school library by Mayor Ratko Dimitrovski.

The Macedonian President visited the monastery “St. Panteleimon” in the village Pantelej, built in 1871, having a rich collection of icons and frescoes painted by the artist Dimitrija Andonov Papradiski.

During the visit of Kocani, President Ivanov delivered a lecture to the students at the Faculty of Law in this town, and afterwards, in the Library "Iskra" he visited the exhibition "The old buildings in Kocani recollect the past”, organized within the manifestation" Days of Kocani rice 2010”.