The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with Dr. Mahmud Cevik, Coordinator of the Turkish Agency for Coordination and Cooperation (TIKA) in the Republic of Macedonia.

Dr. Cevik and TIKA representatives expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with President Ivanov and to present the already implemented and current projects of TIKA, noting that the support of the President, his ideas and efforts are of particular importance for their successful implementation.

As Dr. Cevik said, TIKA, in its operation, takes into account the development needs and goals of countries and societies in which it is present, and, based on that, it defines the fields for cooperation, through concrete projects and programs. The main goal is to provide substantive contributions to the development and cooperation in the fields of economy, technology, trade, social issues, culture and education.

“TIKA is one of the bridges enabling improvement of relations and cooperation between the two friendly countries - Macedonia and Turkey. The Turkish Agency for Coordination and Cooperation attaches particular importance to the approximation of the countries through concrete technical cooperation”, the TIKA Coordinator, Dr. Cevik, said.

President Ivanov appraised the efforts of TIKA to strengthen the ties between the two societies, as well as the success of the projects implemented so far in the Republic of Macedonia in the field of education, health, restoration, development of agriculture, finance, tourism and industry.

He stressed that the experience of the Republic of Turkey is of great importance for our country, and expressed appreciation for the technical assistance, educational and advisory activities TIKA conducts in the Republic of Macedonia, which, as he pointed out, gives significant contribution to the institutional strengthening, but also in maintaining closeness among the nations.

The representatives of the Turkish Agency for Coordination and Cooperation, expressed hope that this support at the highest level will contribute to the further successful implementation of the objectives and agenda of TIKA, and willingness to work closely with all institutions in the Republic of Macedonia which would benefit from the implementation of the joint projects.

The Turkish Agency for Coordination and Cooperation (TIKA) is part of the Presidency of the Government of the Republic of Turkey; it is present and operational in the Republic of Macedonia since 2005, with its Program Coordination Office.