The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today Mr. Subrata Roy, founder and owner of the Indian company “Sahara India Pariwar”.

At the meeting, Mr. Roy informed President Ivanov about the areas of interest for investment in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as about the start of the preparations for implementation of the project “Saharian Macedonia”.

President Ivanov expressed satisfaction with the expressed interest in investing in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as with the concrete proposed projects, which largely and positively is reflected in the strengthening of the Macedonian-Indian relations and cooperation. At the same time, the Macedonian President expressed interest and readiness to expand bilateral relations and cooperation, both politically and in many areas of common interest with emphasis on agriculture, tourism and culture.

At the meeting, they exchanged views and information on the available potential in Macedonia, the possibilities and advantages offered by the country to foreign investors. Moreover, President Ivanov stressed Macedonia’s continued efforts to improve the economic climate and attracting foreign investment.

Both interlocutors agreed that the two countries have broad prospects for deepening bilateral relations, which are traditionally friendly, and reaffirmed the readiness to enhance cooperation and its concretization with further projects.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, sent a congratulation message to the US President Barack Obama, on the occasion of his inauguration and the official beginning of your second term of office as President of the United States of America.

Dear Mr. President,

It gives me special honor and great pleasure to congratulate you on your inauguration and the official beginning of your second term of office as President of the United States of America. Your re-election to this responsible office reflects the faith of the citizens of your country in, above all, you personally, as well as in your vision and sincere ideas and commitments to ensure further prosperity and equal opportunities for all.
Through your consistent and complete commitment in responding to domestic and foreign challenges, the citizens of the United States of America, and the world as a whole, found dedicated and true friend who has the will and knowledge to successfully deal with the burning global issues.
The engagement of your country at the global political and security levels is of invaluable importance. Rest assured that the Republic of Macedonia remains a stable and reliable partner and friend of the United States of America, focused on the overall commitments to peace, security, freedom and democratic prosperity of all peoples in the world and on the activities aimed at fighting terrorism and all universal threats to world peace.
In the upcoming period, we expect further joint engagement and cooperation with a view to strengthening the substantial and fruitful political dialogue between the two countries and their strong cooperation in the multilateral setting, especially within NATO. I should like to reassure you that the Republic of Macedonia remains firmly committed to its aspirations to full-fledged membership of the Alliance.
Hoping that soon we will have an opportunity to meet in person and exchange views on issues of common interest, I reiterate the assurances of my highest consideration and wish you success and prosperity on the personal and professional levels.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, sent a congratulation message to the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia. H.H. Stefan and to the Orthodox believers on the occasion of the great Christian holiday - Epiphany.

Your Holiness,

I have great pleasure and honor to congratulate you and the members of the Holy Synod, the venerable monks and clergy, as well as all Orthodox believers, the great Christian holiday – Epiphany. I wish you spend the holiday in good health, joy and happiness.

Epiphany is a holiday that reminds us of the importance of the sacrament of baptism as one of the pillars of our faith. May we not forget on this great holiday the foundation of our belief and proceed with our respect and commitment to the true spiritual values. Celebrating Christ’s baptism we celebrate our spiritual birth and acknowledge the meaning of our lives.

On the day when the waters are sanctified, may we all wish, most sincerely, peace, harmony and understanding, patience and compassion in our hearts. Inspired by this great holiday we shall continue diligently to share with all our neighbors and with all our fellow citizens, advancing towards the achievement of our common goals.

Many happy returns to this great Christian holiday!

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia and had meetings with the Foreign Minister, Nikola Poposki, and with the Directors of various Directorates within the Ministry.

Main topic at the meetings was coordination of the activities within the South-East European Cooperation Process, during the Republic of Macedonia’s chairmanship. The meetings discussed the initiatives proposed by Macedonia within the SEECP under the motto “Solidarity in Action”, such as the establishment of the “Fund for the Future”, proposed by President Ivanov, the International Conference on Earthquake Engineering under the auspices of President Ivanov and the launching of the preparations for the Summit in June in Ohrid.

The principle of inclusiveness of all countries in this Initiative, promotion and establishment of regional interest for its integration in the European Union and promotion of the concept of single progressive regional neighborhood and cooperation memory, as Minister Poposki said, is the structure of the events planned for 2013. Planned activities at expert and political level will emphasize and reinforce the European capacity of the region and will contribute to promoting the role of the Republic of Macedonia in the development of good neighborly relations.

At the meeting, Minister Poposki informed about the draft amendments to the Law on Foreign Affairs, which is in a parliamentary procedure. He stressed that the new amendments provide a comprehensive and active preparation of the diplomats sent on a mission abroad, and the ultimate goal would be the creation of efficient, active and motivated Macedonian diplomatic service.

The talks also focused on the activities planned for this year about the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Macedonia and 21 countries, as well as the initiative of President Ivanov to grant awards for deserving foreign ambassadors after their term of office in the Republic of Macedonia.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with Luke Simpkins, a deputy of the Parliament of the Australian House of Representatives.
 
At the meeting, the two interlocutors expressed satisfaction with the continuous and positive development of the bilateral relations, as well as readiness for further successful cooperation and exchange of visits at all levels.
 
The Macedonian President appraised the inter-parliamentary cooperation and expressed satisfaction with the intensive meetings and contacts between the two countries.
 
President Ivanov said that the large Macedonian community living in Australia is a great asset to the development and deepening of the relations between the two countries and expressed hope that an Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia in the Republic of Macedonia will soon be opened.
 
In order to strengthen the relations between the two countries, of particular importance would be Australia’s decision to use of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia in bilateral communication, the President said at the meeting.
 
The talks stressed the need and interest of promoting economic cooperation, strengthening trade exchange and initiating and further increase of Australian investments in the Republic of Macedonia. In this regard, President Ivanov stressed the need for further improvement of the legal framework between the two countries.

 Both interlocutors pledged for further cooperation at multilateral level.

Excellency,

I have the honour to invite you to participate in a high-level dialogue on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 at the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, in Geneva, Switzerland. I will be convening a group of disaster risk reduction leaders who will focus on setting parameters for managing the accelerating economic losses to nations and communities due to the increasing disaster risk.

As you may know, the Global Platform is recognized by the General Assembly as the main forum for strategic advice, coordination and partnership for disaster risk reduction at the global level. The Rio+20 sustainable development conference and subsequent deliberations by the Assembly yielded strong encouragement to Member States to give appropriate consideration to disaster risk reduction in the post-2015 development agenda.

Consistent and sustained effort by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia demonstrates how strong leadership at the highest level can build resilience to disasters at the local, regional and national levels. I would like to compliment you for focusing the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the South East European Cooperation Process in June 2013 on disaster risk reduction in the context of the sustainable development agenda.

At a time when Member States are forging their future development goals, I am asking leaders with your experience to rally political support for sound disaster risk reduction practices to be placed prominently in the new development agenda.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, under the guidance of my Special Representative, Ms. Margareta Wahlström, began consultations in September 2012 on a document to continue guiding the work of Member States that began under the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. Guidance from you and other world leaders emerging from the high-level meeting in May 2013 will form an integral part of the development of the next framework. It will also mark an important step in the shaping of a post-2015 future. I very much hope that you will be able to accept my invitation to participate in this important event.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

BAN Ki-moon