The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today in the Villa Biljana in Ohrid the Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Mr. Ernesto Massimino Bellelli for a farewell meeting.

The Macedonian President thanked Ambassador Bellelli for his overall engagement and contribution to the promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries and wished him success in his further career.

Both interlocutors expressed their satisfaction with the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as their expectation that the Republic of Macedonia and the Italian Republic will continue developing their cooperation in all areas of common interest. "Next year, the Republic of Macedonia will host the Brdo – Brijuni Process, whereas the Italian Republic will host the Summit of Heads of Government of the Brdo – Brijuni countries, as a continuation of the Berlin Process – meaning that we will need to continue the dialogue and coordination at all levels in order to ensure synergy of the two events", stated President Ivanov.

President Ivanov expressed his satisfaction with the successful realization of the official visit to the Italian Republic and an expectation that the positive trend in terms of political dialogue will also reflect on the economic relations between the two countries, in the sense of their improvement and promotion.

Ambassador Bellelli expressed his gratitude for the overall cooperation with Macedonian institutions and underlined that the Italian Republic will continue to support the EU and NATO integration process of the Republic of Macedonia, while working on further promotion and development of economic and cultural relations between the two countries.

At the meeting, the two interlocutors exchanged opinions on current developments in the region and Europe, security challenges, the migration crisis, as well as the challenges that the EU is facing.