The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today in his Cabinet received the best students of the University of Information Sciences and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle” - Ohrid.
The meeting discussed a range of issues relevant to student life, whereas the students from the Ohrid University expressed their impressions to President Ivanov on the current activities of this high education institution, the problems and challenges they face, and gave ideas for improving the quality of education in the information sphere.
Students expressed their satisfaction with the University curricula, adding that it is necessary to intensify the practical classes.
“Excellent way to share our ideas, our experience and seek jointly better solutions for improvement of education and our prospects after graduation. What we agreed upon with the President, being the biggest disadvantage in education is the lack of practical teaching, and together we tried to find solutions”, Kristina Shalkovska said, expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to discuss these issues directly with President Ivanov.
At the meeting, the students agreed that it is necessary to intensify communication and cooperation between them, in order to better familiarize themselves with the material and to develop team spirit. In this regard, two students from Ghana and Cameroon said that it would be good to promote cultural exchange between Ghana, Cameroon and Macedonia, since these three countries and peoples have much to learn from each other.
"I am happy to be in Macedonia and to have the opportunity to learn about your culture. After two years studying here, I am pleased with the opportunity to exchange views personally with the President. I am honored that we had the opportunity to discuss many issues, our experience at the University, to increase the standard of education and knowledge", the student from Cameroon, Kvipo Hibinde Jude, said.
President Ivanov congratulated the students for their success achieved so far, and expressed his pleasure of the opportunity to meet successful young people who are part of the academic elite of our country. The President stressed that he is glad that students are talking about problems and challenges, which indicates their willingness to contribute to the improvement of the overall education system. The President told the students that the future is in the technical vocations, especially engineers, who are always oriented to finding solutions to the problems.
"You are audio-visual generations and receive information through the sight and hearing senses. It is a fact that today's young people increasingly use the Internet, and there is not a single scientific field that does not use a computer", President Ivanov said at the meeting, reminding that, however, we should not forget that the crucial part of progress lies in the hands of the people.
On the occasion of the Tree Day, President Ivanov, together with the best students from the Ohrid University, planted trees in the Presidential Cabinet courtyard. They were also accompanied by some of the athletes and the organizers of the campaign titled "Planting is a Sport".
"Excellent example was shown today by the President of the Republic of Macedonia, what is the role of the father of the nation, to plant the future together with domestic and foreign students", Hristina Nikolovska said, chief of the campaign "Plant Your Future".
This is the fifth in a row of planned meetings of the President with students of all universities in the Republic of Macedonia. During the year, President Ivanov received the best students of social sciences from the University "Ss. Cyril and Methodius"- Skopje, University "Goce Delchev" - Stip, South East European University in Tetovo, University "Ss. Kliment Ohridski" - Bitola. The main objective is to hear opinions and ideas, but also the challenges faced by the best representatives of the young academic force to support their creativity and innovation, and to encourage their future academic and professional successes, but also to stress that education becomes a top priority.
President Ivanov at the 4 Regional Presidential Summit in Budva held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo. At the meeting with the President of Montenegro, the two presidents expressed satisfaction with the development of the overall bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro. There was a discussion on the current political situation in both countries and the expectations from the forthcoming EU Council meeting. President Ivanov congratulated Montenegro’s progress towards EU membership and the start of the accession negotiations and interest was expressed for strengthening cooperation at expert level in the context of the EU accession process. The two presidents exchanged views on regional initiatives - SEECP and Dialogue among Civilizations, chaired next year by the Republic of Macedonia and expressed interest in promoting economic cooperation.
At the meeting with the Albanian President, Bujar Nishani, both interlocutors agreed that bilateral relations are at the highest level in continuity, the best indicator of this is the intensity of official visits and cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. They pledged to continue the good cooperation with special emphasis on the economy and reaffirmed their mutual support for the integration of the Republic of Macedonia in NATO and the European Union, and of the Republic of Albania in the EU. The meeting also discussed the recent incidents. Both presidents concluded that the good relations between the two countries, mutually built over the years, must not be disturbed by anyone. The incidents were assessed as unacceptable and irresponsible and they both pledged for institutional sanctioning of the offenders. The Macedonian President accepted the invitation to visit Albania in 2013.
At the meeting with the President of Kosovo, Ms. Jahjaga, satisfaction with the established continuous, constructive and friendly dialogue between the two countries was expressed, and opinions were exchanged on issues of mutual interest. In order to deepen cooperation, the two presidents agreed that it is necessary to improve the contractual framework between the two countries. President Ivanov expressed support for the Republic of Kosovo’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, with clearly defined positions corresponding to the positions of the US, EU, NATO and the UN and expressed willingness to transfer positive reform experiences of the Republic of Macedonia in key areas. The meeting exchanged opinions on regional developments and the Macedonian President expressed interest on the dialogue Belgrade - Pristina. President Ivanov expressed expectation for soon recognition of the Gorani-Macedonians in Kosovo, as a constitutional category of Macedonian national minority.
