The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, as of today, is in a three-day working visit to Belgrade and Pancevo, on the occasion of marking the anniversary "70 years from the settlement of Macedonians in Vojvodina".

Macedonia and Serbia in the past 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, managed to build sincere friendly relations and continuous and excellent political dialogue, as well as shared interests and common efforts to promote the cooperation in all areas, President Ivanov said today after the meeting with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic.

The Serbian President pointed out that the meeting with President Ivanov concluded that the political relations between Serbia and Macedonia are very good and that in this period of various challenges, we have demonstrated that through collaboration and dialogue we can prevent and overcome all difficulties.

Presidents Ivanov and Nikolic at the meeting renewed the issue of concluding a bilateral agreement on the protection and use of historical monuments and landmarks of the territories of both countries. Ivanov, as he said, believes that the conclusion of such an agreement would be of mutual interest and expects both governments to immediately begin work to form working groups in order to harmonize it.

The region where there is too much history, according to the President, needs mutual respect, dialogue and proactive approach. "We need to focus on the future, regardless of the open and different positions on some issues", President Ivanov said.

The two presidents discussed the latest developments in the region, the migrant crisis, the common security challenges, as well as the European perspectives of the two countries.

President Ivanov announced the initiative to revive the project Danube-Morava-Vardar, which is also in the interest of our neighbor Greece.
President Nikolic, however, said that he asked the Macedonian President for Macedonia's support to Serbia by voting against Kosovo's membership in UNESCO.

The Macedonian President in Belgrade is to meet with the Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic.

Within the working visit, late this afternoon, a Macedonian-Serbian business forum will be held which will bring together about twenty Macedonian companies from the pharmaceutical, food, metal, construction industry, and from the field of information technology, graphic industries and transport services. The opening of the business forum in Belgrade will be addressed by the presidents Ivanov and Nikolic, as well as by the Presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of Macedonia and Serbia.

Within the central ceremony marking the jubilee "70 years from the settlement of Macedonians in Vojvodina", in Pancevo on Sunday, a Ceremony will be held which will be addressed by both presidents Ivanov and Nikolic.