The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, in New York, held a meeting with the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoarimana.

At the meeting, the two presidents exchanged information on the political and economic situation in both countries, as well as on the key challenges they face.

The interlocutors jointly concluded that the political contacts between Macedonia and Madagascar need to be strengthened; the capacities for cooperation to be well presented and cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest to be initiated.

President Ivanov said that the political relations between the two countries are good, but despite the multilateral cooperation, there is no concrete bilateral cooperation and therefore it is necessary to initiate contacts and to exploit the potential, especially in the economic sphere.

At the meeting, the President of Madagascar informed about the opportunities his country offers, especially in agriculture, tourism, mining and energy, and stressed the interest of Madagascar to use Macedonia's experiences in economic reforms.

The President of Madagascar thanked President Ivanov on the accepted invitation to participate at the 16th Francophonie Summit, to be held in November in Antananarivo.