Bosnian authorities to help in closing the investigation on the death of the former President of the Republic of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, urged today in Sarajevo who is in official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

President Ivanov urged the competent authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to help find out the truth of Trajkovski’s death, to approve the professional expertise of the Commission of the Republic of Macedonia and to take all the necessary measures to close the investigation.

“We also opened the pending issue regarding the death of our former President Trajkovski for a final institutional closure, to avoid further speculation,” said at the press conference after the meeting with his host, the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegovic.

President Izetbegovic, on his turn, said that the Bosnian authorities would help in every possible way this huge investigation to come to an end.

In the focus of the talks today in Sarajevo was also the need to intensify economic cooperation between the two countries, namely by signing a number of bilateral agreements, including an agreement on double taxation evasion. In this, regard, today the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of health and medical sciences was signed.

President Ivanov, at the meeting, reaffirmed the need of the project "Adriatic-Ionian highway" and its connection with Corridors 8 and 10. He appealed that this project should be the highest priority in the agenda of the two countries.

In order to promote economic ties, President Ivanov and Izetbegovic expressed support for the participation of Macedonian companies at the May Business Forum, scheduled for next year in Sarajevo.

In terms of the common strategic goal, the EU and NATO membership, the Macedonian President said that Macedonia offer its assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of the European integration processes by signing agreements and sharing of experiences.

The meeting in Sarajevo once again reaffirmed that Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have friendly relations and that there are no outstanding issues.

Asked about the letter of the Greek Foreign Minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos, to the Macedonian Foreign Minister, Nikola Poposki, President Ivanov said that "Macedonia and Greece have signed a bilateral agreement in 1995 (the Interim Accord) and it should be respected".

Regarding tomorrow's confidence vote of the government in Skopje, the Head of state said that such a process is normal in a democracy and it always makes the coalition partners think of their future actions.

„We, in the Balkans, are 20 years in a period of independence and creation of democratic institutions. We have gone through several election cycles so far and we have stable institutions. Pertaining to the issue of confidence vote of government, we need to get used to, as the Western democracies, that the opposition is entitled, at every occasion, to control the government. Since we remember the negative past experience in the Balkans and the population fears of crisis,“ the Head of state said.

The Macedonian President, as part of his visit, met with the members of the College of the two chambers of the Parliament and with the President of the Council of Ministers, Vjekoslav Bevanda.