On the occasion of celebrating the Jewish New Year, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov sent a greeting message with the following text to His Excellency, Shimon Peres, President of Israel:
Honorable Mister President, it is with special honor and pleasure, on behalf of the people of the Republic of Macedonia and on my personal behalf, to congratulate you the great holiday Rosh Hashanah and the celebration of the beginning of the year 5771, wishing you prosperous year, joyful moments, happiness, good health, well-being and mutual respect.   
Renewing the most sincere wishes for your personal happiness and good health, please, Mr. President, accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Shana Tova,
Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov met today with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and Minister of Finance Zoran Stavrevski, Deputy Prime Minister Vasko Naumovski, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, Minister of Justice Mihajlo Manevski.
The meeting was part of the talks that President Ivanov is organizing prior his visit to Brussels in the period 9-10 September, where the President will meet with high level representatives of the European Union’s leadership. It is envisaged the President to have several other meetings with competent executive and legislature officials.
Topic of today's meeting of the President with the members of the Government was the activities and achievements related to the reforms that the Republic of Macedonia has made within the Euro-Atlantic integration. Specific areas that were discussed during the meeting were the course of the judicial reforms, the projects for energy and infrastructure connection of the Republic of Macedonia, the plans concerning the public administration reforms and the reforms in the sphere of economy, and was assessed that the Republic of Macedonia has reached the status of functional market economy.
President Ivanov expressed satisfaction with the activities for harmonization of the legislation of the Republic of Macedonia, in many areas, with the European legislation, stating that this will greatly facilitate faster implementation of the negotiations with the Union for full membership. The President assessed that all undertaken measures and activities contribute to meeting the conditions for starting the negotiations with the Union, which was underlined in last year’s progress report of the European Commission. At the meeting, the positive effect that the commencement of the negotiations for EU membership would have on the reform processes in Macedonia was highlighted.
The President at the meeting welcomed the announcement of the changes concerning certain political decisions that could contribute in presenting a different picture of the Republic of Macedonia to the EU institutions. The visit to Brussels, President Ivanov will use to objectively present the situation in the country and the achievements of the Republic of Macedonia. The president also, during the visit will concentrate on the benefits that Macedonia and the European Union will have if the process of integration in the region of Southeast Europe is accelerated.