In the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, a ceremonial change of the national flag was held.

The ceremony was attended by the pupils from the primary school "Andrej Savevski Kikish" from Tetovo and by the Republic of Macedonia's Red Cross volunteers, marking the December 3rd – International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and December 5th – International Volunteer Day.

The change of the national flag of the Republic of Macedonia in the Cabinet of the President was performed by the Guard Unit of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia.

The ceremony of changing the national flag aims at raising the sense and respect for the flag of the Republic of Macedonia, as a sign and symbol of the statehood of our country.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today professors and students from the Faculty of Law "Justinian I" within the "St. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, and from the University of Caen, France, who are participating in the 4th International Scientific Symposium which will be held at the Faculty of Law. President Ivanov wished successful implementation of the upcoming symposium and continuation of the good cooperation between the scientific institutions in the coming period. The guests informed the Macedonian President on the cooperation between the two universities, which dates from 2012, as well as on the previous successfully implemented international symposia. The International Symposium on "Juvenile Justice" is organized by the Faculty of Law "Justinian I" and the International Institute for Human Rights and Peace at the University of Caen.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, decorated the National and University Library "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" - Skopje, with the "Order of Merits for Macedonia", on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its establishment.
The decoration is awarded for exceptional results in its seven decades of work in collecting, preserving and presenting the Macedonian spiritual creation, which has given a significant contribution to the development of education, science and culture, as well as the overall social development of the Republic of Macedonia and its affirmation in the world.

"In the past 70 years, the National and University Library "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" has been a treasury of our cultural heritage, spring of ideas, spiritual guardian of the Macedonian society and intellectual engine and overall economic development of the Republic of Macedonia. There is no past without library, as there is no future without it," President Ivanov said.

"In recent decades and years, the library began to reform, to network and digitize. The limitation of physical space is settled with the connectivity to the unlimited virtual space. The library adapts to the needs of its users. It started to walk toward a successful and sustainable library of the 21st century. Therefore, the Order of Merits for Macedonia is a token of appreciation to the library for the preservation of our freedom. But at the same time, this Order brings responsibility to continue towards achieving the goal: the Library to be a place where reading, research and excellence are encouraged by the privileges granted to the curiosity," President Ivanov said at the ceremony.

The Minister of Culture, Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said that the National Library is a matrix of our written heritage and preserves valuable artifacts that speak about our origin and identity.
"This temple of knowledge keeps many truths, starting from the fragment of Lenten Triodion of the 13th century, as the oldest preserved manuscript of the Old Slavic period, to other books and manuscripts from many centuries ago, being an invaluable record of the history of the Macedonian language and the Macedonian people," Minister Kanceska-Milevska said.

She mentioned the capital literary projects of the National Library in the recent years, its international cooperation with similar institutions in the world and reminded of the project of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and the Ministry of Culture "Digital Library – Promotion of the NUL "Sv. Kliment Ohridski", thus, as she said, it ensures longevity of the valuable literary wealth possessed by the Republic of Macedonia.

The Director of the NUL, Ivan Zarov, expressed his thankfulness for the Order and said that in building this national institution through the seven decades of existence deserving are generations Macedonian intellectuals and his predecessors who have been in charge of the institution.

"For us, this award is great recognition for the role and the high position the library has for seven decades in the Pantheon of the Macedonian culture and is embedded in the foundations of the social, cultural, scientific, intellectual rise of the Macedonian state. It summarizes the overall collective memory of our people, its spirit and worthy place in the modern community of nations," Zarov said.

"Sv. Kliment Ohridski" is founded on November 23, 1944. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the National and University Library, an exhibition titled "From the treasury of the National Library" was opened, which features part of the wealth of the Library: old Slavic, oriental and modern manuscripts, musical compositions, old maps, rare periodicals, as well as some of the editions of the Library and selected publications dedicated to Sv. Kliment Ohridski. Publications on the occasion of the jubilee were also promoted and prices awarded to former directors of the National Library, library staff and to people who have contributed to its development.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, held a meeting today with the current and the future rapporteur of the European Parliament for the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Richard Howitt and Mr. Ivo Vajgl.

President Ivanov expressed gratitude to Mr. Howitt for his personal involvement and contribution in the development of the overall relations and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the European Union, and for his role in the implementation of the reforms and progress in our European integration as the EP rapporteur for Macedonia.

The Macedonian President said that the European Parliament, as holder of the will of the citizens of the European Union, is a constant friend of the Republic of Macedonia and a strong supporter of our Euro-integration processes.

President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia remains firmly committed to meeting all reforms to fulfill the strategic goals for membership in the European Union and NATO, and added that the support of the European Parliament is of particular importance.

President Ivanov, wishing Mr. Ivo Vajgl success in the execution of his new duty as the next EP rapporteur for the Republic of Macedonia, expressed his expectation for a strong and proactive engagement as a contribution towards achieving the ultimate goal – full-fledged EU membership.

Mr. Vajgl expressed his full support for our European integrations and added that he would make invest all his efforts for the Republic of Macedonia's membership into the European Union.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, and his wife, Ms. Maja Ivanova and son Ivan, received in their home pupils from the Special Primary School "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" from Novo Selo, on the occasion of December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

In a pleasant atmosphere, the pupils from the SPS "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" spent time with the Ivanov family, had the opportunity to see their home and recited songs they have rehearsed for this occasion.

As part of the action "Tree Day - Plant Your Future", the Ivanov family and the pupils planted trees in the backyard of "Villa Makedonija".

"Our house has been visited by many children on various occasions. It will be the same in the future. Our home will be open to children who need care, who need love, who need encouragement, understanding, but also children who achieve successes in our country and beyond our borders. Today in our house guests are the children from the Special Primary School "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" from Novo Selo. The reason for their visit is celebration of December 3, the International Day of Disabled Persons. Today, my message is that these people have the same rights, the same goals, the same desires as all of us. My child has the right as these children who are here today have. It is said that, when the strong stretches his hand to the weaker, the healthy helps the sick, the powerful aids the powerless, then there is a just and humane world. Today, we have taken this opportunity to mark the Tree Day action, an action that we as a family support since its very beginning and here we are again with these children planting our green future in the yard of our home, planting new trees in support of the action that makes Macedonia recognized not only in the region, but wider in Europe and even worldwide," Ms. Ivanova said.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, hosted today the Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen Thi Doan, who is paying an official visit to the Republic of Macedonia.

The relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are characterized by friendship, respect, mutual trust, but lack concrete content especially in the field of economic cooperation, the development of which requires creation of prerequisite by the two countries in the future, was assessed today by the Macedonian President and the Vice President of Vietnam.

"We have had very constructive and useful discussions. We agree that the relations between the two countries in the past 20 years, although the political dialogue is modest, insufficient specific content of cooperation, are, however, characterized by friendship, mutual respect and trust," President Ivanov said. He added that confirmation of the friendly relations is the fact that Vietnam uses the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia both at bilateral and international level. President Ivanov informed that at the today's meeting with Ms. Thi Doan they agreed in the coming period, with mutual commitment, to offset the lost, to intensify the political dialogue and strengthen the contractual framework thus provide specific content to the cooperation between the two countries. "Today, we are making a significant step forward in that direction, with the signing of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the governments of both countries. I expect in the future intensification of contacts and maximum commitment to the use of all possibilities for enhanced economic cooperation as the first priority in our relations. Further improvement of the contractual framework will open perspectives for cooperation in other areas of mutual interest in education, culture, health care," President Ivanov said.

Ms. Thi Doan agreed with the position of President Ivanov that commitment of both countries is needed to develop the relations in the future. "President Ivanov and I agreed that the two countries should continue to maintain regular exchange of visits at all levels, to work to the promotion of cooperation in the field of economy, education, culture, tourism, in order to effectively implement the signed agreements on cooperation in the field of trade and investment," Thi Doan said. She added that it is necessary to create better conditions for businesses and investors, for market research and particularly the strength areas of both countries, such as mining, food industry, agriculture, construction, transport and services.
Ms. Thi Doan said that good, friendly relations, filled with trust and respect can be the basis for future cooperation. "President Ivanov and I exchanged information on the situation in both countries, assessed the bilateral relations in the past, discussed international and regional issues of mutual interest. We believe that in the near future the traditionally good friendly relations between Vietnam and Macedonia will develop positively in many areas and at all levels. We discussed specific measures to boost bilateral cooperation between the two countries and multilateral relations in the period to come," the Vice President of Vietnam said.

Both interlocutors concluded that multilaterally there is close communication between the two countries and that consent is reached to further strengthen the cooperation within the UN, UNESCO and the Organization of Francophone. This is the first visit of a high Vietnamese state representative of the Republic of Macedonia at a time when the two countries mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.