The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today signed the Book of Condolence in the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, on the death of the first President of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Michal Kovac.

President Ivanov conveyed his condolences on the death of President Kovac and stressedhis contribution to the democratization of the Slovak Republic and its European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

"Thanks to his efforts, the Slovak Republic today is an important and respected member of the European Union and NATO. It was in his time when the Republic of Macedonia and the Slovak Republic established diplomatic relations, built on the deep roots of the Slovak-Macedonian friendship", President Ivanov wrote in the Book of Condolence.

Michal Kovac was the first democratically elected president of the independent Slovak Republic, who served his term from 1993 - 1998 and was also a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Slovakia.