The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, in "Villa Biljana" in Ohrid, received the organizers of the Ohrid Summer Festival and the world-renowned baritone, opera star from Russia, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, who will officially open with his performance this year's 53rd edition of the festival.

At the meeting, held in the eve of tomorrow's opening of Ohrid Summer Festival, President Ivanov, as traditional patron of the festival, expressed satisfaction with this year's program, adding that the festival is one of the most important Macedonian cultural events.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, in the eve of the 40th Galicnik wedding that is to be held on July, 13 - 14, today in "Villa Biljana" in Ohrid met with Mr. Kiro Kiproski and Mr. Mitre Adzieski, organizers of the event.

At the meeting, President Ivanov stressed that it is an honor for him to be the patron of the Galichnik wedding traditionally, since it is one of the most important Macedonian cultural and tourist events.

The Macedonian President was informed about the preparations for the jubilee and for the publication of the monograph "Galichnik Forever", written by Mr. Kiprovski, as well as about other events planned as part of the Galichnik cultural summer.

In the People's Office of the President of the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje, an Info-day was held today, entitled "Business angels for innovative SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2013", organized by Euro-Macedonian Knowledge and Innovation Center - EMKICE. Those who attended the presentation had the opportunity to learn about the process of preparation of the investment, favorable areas for investment, as well as the advantages and benefits of using EU funds for this purpose. During the info-day, 5 points action plan was presented (Action Plan to benefit SME growth in 2014-2020) with an aim to encourage entrepreneurs and support and increase the number of small and medium companies.

"I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, and to the People's Office in Skopje, for enabling us to organize this Info-day and to mark another step in the campaign launched in May in Brussels", the President of EMKICE, Ilija Vuckov, said.

Led by the idea that the first step in conquering the future is innovation, and that this requires stimulation of competition of ideas among small and medium enterprises, President Ivanov continuously supports events and initiatives that encourage innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit among young people.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, in "Villa Biljana" in Ohrid, met with representatives of the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination - TIKA, led by the President of TIKA, Dr. Serdar Cam.

At the meeting, President Ivanov welcomed the projects implemented so far in the Republic of Macedonia in the field of education, health, agriculture, tourism, industry, pointing out that the projects supported by TIKA and implemented in the Republic of Macedonia have positive effect on the overall relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Turkey and are in the interest of promoting cooperation between the two friendly countries. In this context, President Ivanov reaffirmed his commitment to further support and to encourage future activities of TIKA in the country.

The Macedonian President urged the delegation of TIKA, led by Dr. Cam, that the Turkish experiences are always welcome in the country, adding that their projects contribute to the strengthening of the institutions through the specific technical cooperation, but also to maintaining closeness between the peoples.

At the meeting, President Ivanov sent greetings to the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu and to the entire Turkish nation. He also noted that he is following with great attention the current events in Turkey and he expressed his expectation that Turkey will continue its path to prosperity and development. President Ivanov said as Macedonia enjoys unconditional support from Turkey and their leadership for the challenges it faces, Turkey, as well, enjoys our full support in dealing with the challenges it faces. Turkey and its leadership are proven friends of Macedonia, President Ivanov said at the meeting.

Dr. Serdar Cam and the representatives of TIKA, who are visiting the Balkan countries, thanked for the meeting with President Ivanov and for the possibility to present the implemented and current projects and plans for the future, noting that they particularly appreciate the continued support, ideas and personal commitment of the President, for their successful implementation. As the leadership of TIKA noted, the today's meeting with President Ivanov is a proof of the friendship between the two countries, as well as a confirmation of the readiness of the institutions in the Republic of Macedonia for further cooperation with the agency.

The Turkish Agency for Coordination and Cooperation is part of the Presidency of the Government of the Republic of Turkey which is present and operational in the Republic of Macedonia since 2005, with its Office for program coordination. TIKA has so far opened 35 offices worldwide and is implementing projects in 110 countries.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, last night in Zagreb met with his Greek counterpart, Karolos Papoulias, the first meeting ever held between a Macedonian and Greek President.

"On my initiative, I first time met with the Greek President and discussed openly as ordinary people about our two societies, our citizens, and how can we both contribute, as presidents, for a greater cooperation between the two societies, because we have to follow the good relations, the positive trends that exist between the citizens of our two countries", President Ivanov said in Zagreb. Papoulias, as President Ivanov said, promised a new meeting.

"Now we need to continue the talks. He promised another opportunity to speak. Thus, this is a breakthrough, because since our independence there have been no meeting between a Greek and Macedonian President," President Ivanov said.

The Macedonian President, who attended last night in Zagreb, at "Ban Jelacic" square, the central ceremony marking Croatia's accession into the European Union, congratulated the people of the country and wished them all the best in their future development.

"Membership of every individual country of the region into the European Union is a gain for the whole region, because we have yet another supporter. Therefore, Slovenia and Croatia together launched the process known as "Brdo Process", and our entire region, all those present at the breakfast today, will meet again in the presence of the French President, Hollande. It speaks that there is a will to cooperate, to help. Nevertheless, symbolically, for us this is important, because for the first time, with Croatia's accession into the European Union, Macedonians access the European Union. As you are aware, Macedonians are recognized in the Croatian Constitution and it gives us special pleasure and certain personal satisfaction, because some Euro-bureaucrats will lack an alibi not to use the word Macedonians and Macedonia", President Ivanov said in Zagreb.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the members of the Committee tasked to examine the events of December 24, 2012 and the preceding events. The Committee is constituted of Mr. Borce Davitkovski - President and the following members Mr. Ilija Dimovski, Ms. Blagorodna Dulic, Mr. Ljubomir Danailov Frchkoski and Ms. Renata Trenevska - Deskovska.

The President of the Committee, Professor Borce Davitkovski, after the meeting stated that the Committee, as of tomorrow, will regularly meet and propose the rules of procedure establishing the decision-making process to be accepted by the members. Today, the constitutive meeting of the expert committee was held in order to examine the legal aspects of the events that happened on December 24, 2012. Thanks to President Gjorge Ivanov, his engagement and mediation, thus Committee has been established. Tomorrow we start to work seriously to examine the events according to the guidelines given in the Agreement signed between the political parties and the EU representatives, said professor Davitkovski.

Professor Davitkovski said it is a committee which, within 60 days, has to determine the facts without making any political conclusions. We hope that within this period we will accomplish our task. We establish the facts, we do not make political conclusions, the President of the Committee said. Professor Davitkovski said that the conclusions of the Committee will be submitted to the leaders of both political parties which have mandated them, i.e. given their support to serve as chairman.

The President of the Committee said that there is a great will to clarify the events at both parties. Particularly when, figuratively, they both backed me as the Dean of the Law Faculty, as a person with a legal experience. They believe in me and I want a solution to be found. I think it is a good sign, and I am sure we will draft the report as scheduled and submit it to the concerned parties, Professor Davitkovski said.