The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today Ms. Helen Clark, Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations and Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The meeting discussed the overall cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and UNDP and the implementation of the current and future projects and initiatives.

President Ivanov expressed his expectation that the signing of the new framework for development cooperation of the United Nations, "Partnership for Sustainable Development: 2016-2020 UN strategy for the Republic of Macedonia", will provide greater coherence in the work of the United Nations agencies in the country and more efficient use of their expertise, experience and resources.

"We expect increased transparency and accountability in the planning of future activities of the United Nations in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as strengthening of the partnership with the national institutions,

President Ivanov said at the meeting, adding that it requires greater involvement of our representatives in the joint working groups for monitoring and reporting the results of the implementation of the projects and activities supported by UNDP and the United Nations.

Ms. Helen Clark praised the way the Republic of Macedonia handles the refugee and migrant crisis and said that the support and cooperation with the Republic of Macedonia will continue and deepen with new projects.

The meeting welcomed the active participation of the Republic of Macedonia in adopting the Sustainable Development Goals under the UN Agenda 2030 and the actions taken to implement them.

The Macedonian President expressed satisfaction that the priority activities in the operations of the UNDP in the Republic of Macedonia for the period 2016-2020 result from the priorities of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and represent a continuation of the activities to provide support for employment, strengthening local public services, social inclusion and sustainable environment.

President Ivanov thanked for the engagement and initiatives of UNDP in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as for the successful implementation of the project for protection of Lake Prespa.

The interlocutors expressed their expectation for continued cooperation in defining jointly the strategic priorities, ongoing activities and in implementing existing projects.