The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with the President of the House of Representatives of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jan Hamacek, who is paying an official visit to the Republic of Macedonia.

The meeting was focused on the possibilities for developing bilateral relations between the two countries, foreign policy priorities of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as current developments in the region and Europe as regards the refugee and migrant crisis and newest security situation.

The two parties expressed their satisfaction with the continuous and stable political dialogue at the highest level, mutual friendship and assistance at the bilateral and multilateral level, as well as their firm readiness to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.

President Ivanov welcome the inter-parliamentary cooperation, estimating it as exceptionally important in function of deepening friendly relations and building mutual confidence.

As regards Macedonia EU and NATO membership, the Macedonian President expressed his gratitude for the clear and vocal support, as well as his expectation that at the following NATO Summit in Warsaw, the Czech Republic will support the efforts to unblock Macedonian integrations and entry into NATO with the same degree of intensity.

In this sense, President Ivanov underlined that the integration of the Republic of Macedonia both in the Alliance and the EU, is of exceptional importance for the stability and security of the region.

In order to successfully manage and handle the migrant and refugee crisis, both interlocutors agreed that strengthened regional cooperation and exchange of security related information is indispensable. It was also noted that EU needs a joint strategy and coordinated international action in order to tackle this challenge.

President Ivanov pointed out that although Macedonia has been strongly affected by the crisis and has overstretched capacities, it has been successful in managing the situation and respecting all international obligations in terms of treatment of migrants. In this sense, the President expressed his gratitude for the assistance received from the Czech Republic.

One of the topics for exchange of opinions were also current developments in the region of Southeast and Central Europe. Having in mind the increased danger from terrorist attacks, both interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to have wider international cooperation and to set better communication and coordination among all countries in the global fight against terrorism.