The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today attended the inauguration ceremony of Pope Francis, which was held at St. Peter’s square in Vatican, attended by numerous high ranking political and social figures from around the world, religious leaders and hundreds of thousands of believers.

After the inauguration, President Ivanov had a brief meeting with Pope Francis, extending him once again congratulations on his appointment as Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, wished him success in the execution of the noble mission.

At the meeting, the Macedonian President stressed that the relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Holy See have always been excellent and expressed willingness to strengthen and deepen mutual friendship and cooperation in the following period.

At the same time, President Ivanov expressed his expectation that the highly esteemed engagement of Pope Francis and his commitment to the Christian values and principles will enable to successfully face the challenges of today and that his reputation and authority will help in the preservation of the universal values, dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect.

At the meeting, President Ivanov extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit the Republic of Macedonia.

The inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Pope Francis was a chance President Ivanov to have short informal meetings with several world statesmen. On the sidelines of the inauguration, the Macedonian President met with the Vice President of the United States, Mr. Joseph Biden, the German Chancellor, Ms. Angela Merkel, the President of the Italian Republic, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, the President of Mexico, Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto, Prince Albert II of Monaco, the President of Lithuania, Ms. Dalia Grybauskaite, the President of Latvia, Mr. Andris Berzins, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor, the President of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Tomislav Nikolic, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev.

Pope Francis’ inauguration of was attended by officials of 180 countries, including the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the appointment as Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, sent a congratulation message to His Holiness, Pope Francis.

Your Holiness,

On the occasion of your appointment as Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, it is my honor and great pleasure, on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and on my personal behalf, to extend my most cordial congratulations and sincere wishes of good health, personal happiness and success in the execution of your noble mission.

I sincerely hope that your highly esteemed commitment, your dedication to the Christian values and principles, will enable you to face the numerous challenges of today. At the same time, I believe your reputation and authority will help in the preservation of the universal values we stand for and share in the spirit of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect. In this regard, you have a partner and friend in me and in the Republic of Macedonia.

I take this opportunity to express my strong conviction that in the period to come, the friendship and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the Holy See will be further strengthened and deepened, whereas I express our full readiness.

Renewing my congratulations to you and to all Catholic Church followers, wishing you a long and blessed pontificate, please accept, Your Holiness, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, sent a congratulation message on the occasion of the appointment of the new President of the People's Republic of China, H.E. MR. Xi Jinping.

Your Excellency,

On the occasion of your appointment as President of the People's Republic of China, let me extend, on behalf of the Macedonian people and on my personal behalf, sincere congratulations and cordial wishes for further success of your country and the friendly Chinese people.
In this solemn occasion, allow me to express my admiration of the path to prosperity, wellbeing and international recognition that the People's Republic of China is paving to contribute to the building of peace and peaceful co-existence in the world.
I avail myself of this opportunity to express my great satisfaction with the development of relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the People's Republic of China, and the conviction that, with joint efforts, we will contribute to further promotion of the traditionally friendly relations and cooperation in all fields of mutual interest.
Your Excellency, I renew the assurances of my highest consideration to you.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with Ambassador Geert Hinrich Ahrens, Head of OSCE/ODIHR mission to observe the local elections in the Republic of Macedonia.

At the meeting, President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia has the capacity to conduct fair and democratic elections and that the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia have great political awareness and maturity to contribute to the realization of such elections. The Republic of Macedonia has proven that in the past and there is no reason to be otherwise at the forthcoming local elections, President Ivanov added.

Underlining that the organization of the electoral process is one of the key criteria in meeting the strategic goals of the Republic of Macedonia, President Ivanov expressed his expectation that the election competition would be legitimate and constructive and at the same time a battle of proposals and ideas, instead of a battle for local government.

"At this cycle, as in previous election cycles, I urge that anyone who does not comply with the established rules and legal norms for fair and democratic elections shall face the most stringent possible institutional response", President Ivanov stressed.

Both interlocutors agreed on the need that all stakeholders in the electoral process should behave responsibly, with unconditional respect for the law and in accordance with the attained democratic gains, taking into account the state and the citizens' interests.

At the meeting, they exchanged opinions about the recent political developments, whereby the Macedonian President expressed satisfaction with the positive attitude of the leaders of the government and the opposition which finally enabled the European agenda to be back on the track in the Republic of Macedonia.

President Ivanov expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with the OSCE and said that he highly appreciates their activities in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the personal engagement of Ambassador Ahrens.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today met with the World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab.

The Macedonian President welcomed the decision the headquarter of the South East Europe Health Network Secretariat to be in Skopje and expressed expectation that in the future, this network will contribute to the strengthening of the healthcare systems in all ten Southeast European countries, constituting the network, and will help establish closer cooperation in the development of public health and in the implementation of common interest projects.

President Ivanov underscored that this is another confirmation that the Republic of Macedonia is not only participant but also actively and constructively contributes in the regional initiatives. SEE Health Network, the President said, expects this to be a positive example of cooperation in other regions in Europe.

At the meeting, the interlocutors exchanged views and information on the functioning of the health system in the Republic of Macedonia, on the continued reforms and efforts to improve the public health system, as well as opportunities for deepening regional cooperation in this field.

The decision on the Secretariat's headquarter was made based on the application of the Republic of Macedonia, approved by all ten Southeast European countries, members of the health care network.