The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today in Zagreb with the President-elect of the Republic of Croatia, Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

At the meeting, the two interlocutors expressed willingness to further strengthen the traditionally friendly relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Croatia and to intensify the cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral level.

President Ivanov congratulated the Croatian President Mrs. Grabar-Kitarovic on the assuming of office and wished her success.

The Macedonian President expressed satisfaction with the ongoing development of relations and cooperation between the two countries and willingness to their further content enrichment, adding that with joint efforts we will contribute to the regional stability and prosperity.

In this context, President Ivanov stressed the importance of the "Bardo-Brioni Process", which is a firm acknowledgment of the commitment of Croatia to strengthen regional cooperation and support the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries in the region.

Concerning Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration processes, President Ivanov expressed confidence that Croatia, as a proven friend of the Republic of Macedonia, will continue to strongly support our efforts for integration into the EU and NATO and expressed appreciation for the constructive position that bilateral disputes should not be an obstacle on the Euro-Atlantic path.

"The positive examples in our region of parallel processes of integration and overcoming bilateral differences should be applied in the case of the Republic of Macedonia and its southern neighbor", President Ivanov stressed.

The Croatian President, Mrs. Grabar-Kitarovic, noted that strategic interest of the Republic of Croatia is full integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic structures, adding that Croatia will continue with its active and constructive role and commitment for membership of Macedonia into the EU and NATO.

The meeting agreed on the dynamic of exchange of visits at the highest level in the coming period.
Before this meeting, President Ivanov attended the inauguration of the new President of the Republic of Croatia. The delegation also includes the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, Zoran Jolevski.