The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, attended today the holy Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the Christian holiday celebrating Saint Clement. Saint Clement is a saint – patron and protector of the city of Ohrid.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia d-r Gjorge Ivanov sent a letter of congratulations to the President of the Swiss Confederacy Doris Leuthard, on the occasion of the national day of Switzerland. The text of the letter follows - Distinguished Mme. President,
On the occasion of the National Day of the Swiss Confederation, it is with distinct honour and pleasure that I would like, on behalf of the people of the Republic of Macedonia and my own behalf, to extend sincere greetings, with best wishes for further prosperity of your country and welfare of its people.
I wish to take this solemn opportunity to express pleasure and welcome the attained level of friendship and continued progress in relations and cooperation between our two countries. I am sure that in the period to come such ties and relations will continue, with joint efforts, to be further promoted and intensified in all areas of common concern, for which I have expressed my full preparedness and that of the Republic of Macedonia at our recent meeting. The great Macedonian diaspora in the Swiss Confederation, which represents an established bridge of friendship, strengthens even more the bonds between our countries.
I avail myself of this occasion, Mme. President, to express sincere gratitude for the cordial welcome and hospitality shown during my official visit to the Swiss Confederation. I would like to extend you again the invitation to visit the Republic of Macedonia at a date to be established via diplomatic channels; this will indeed make a fine opportunity for you to see the great cultural and historic legacy abounding in my country and for me to reciprocate for the hospitality.
Please accept, Mme. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov attended today the ceremony organized at the megalithic observatory Kokino.
During the morning ceremony, actors and artists performed the ancient ritual which used to be observed at Kokino. The archeologist Jovica Stankovski explained the meaning of the ritual to the attendees and the role of the observatory Kokino. The promotion of the observatory in Kokino was initiated 8 years ago. Within this period, Kokino was scientifically recognized by several prestigious organizations, the most important being NASA.
Furthermore, President Ivanov visited Staro Nagorichane and the church St. Gjorgji.
- We, as local self-government, shall make efforts to initiate projects through the Government for infrastructure improvement of our Kokino, which is one of the priorities for the development of the municipality. Main problem is the road which necessitates immediate reconstruction and I hope that we will manage to resolve this issue in due time, said Miodrag Jovanovik, Mayor of the municipality Staro Nagorichane.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov today received the credentials of the newly appointed Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rakovski Simeonov Lashev. At the official ceremony of presenting the credentials, President Ivanov welcomed Ambassador Lashev to Macedonia. The President expressed his hope that Ambassador Lashev will provide a strong contribution to further promotion of the relations of the two countries.
According to President Ivanov, the relations between the two countries are excellent and there are great opportunities to improve cooperation. The President assessed that both countries share common values, strategic objectives and are committed to cooperation in the interest of both states, as well as in the interest of the development of the region.
Ambassador Lashev said that he will not spare his capacity to work on strengthening of the relations and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria. The Ambassador expressed satisfaction with the upward development of the bilateral cooperation especially in the field of trade and energy. According to Ambassador Lashev, one field the inter-state cooperation must concentrate on is the joint infrastructure projects linking the two countries.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov received today Mr. Ilir Meta, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Albania. During the meeting, satisfaction was expressed with the level of bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Albania and with the mutual determination to further strengthening of the friendship and promotion of the relations through an open dialogue. The high level of our relations is confirmed by the continuous political dialogue between the two countries, characterized with frequent meetings at highest level which directly contribute to more intensive cooperation in all spheres –President Ivanov said at the meeting.
Both interlocutors concluded that Macedonia and Albania, sharing identical vision of their integration within the Euro-Atlantic structures, are committed to regional cooperation and building good-neighborly relations and, to that end, agreed to further mutual support for the integration processes.
It was stated during the meeting that exceptionally important segment in the relations between the two countries should be the economic cooperation, which, as it was mentioned, does not correspond with the level of political relations and the capacities of both economies.