North Macedonian President, Pendarovski received in a high state and military honors the counterpart of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeier, who is paying an official visit to North Macedonia. According to DW, the two presidents in the face-to-face meeting talked about bilateral relations, the war in Ukraine and the economic crisis. President Stevo Pendarovski stated that he has received support from his German counterpart for his country’s journey to the EU.

“This visit has its values ​​because it is happening at a time when we are facing a war in the European space. In this sensitive period, we have an inalienable need from great allies, one of them being Germany. We also talked about EU integration, which is also our key goal. In this regard, we received indisputable support from Germany. In economic terms, Germany remains one of our biggest allies”, said Pendarovski.

The President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Skopje that Germany strongly supports the integration of North Macedonia in the EU, but also recalled the implementation of internal reforms.

“It is important for the North Macedonia to continue with internal reforms. This reform process will continue and your country can count on the support of Germany. North Macedonia is part of Europe and its membership will add value to the EU even more”, declared Steinmeier.

The President of Germany, Frank Walter Steinnmeier, addressed  also the members of the Parliament of North Macedonia. On this occasion, he said that the road to the EU is anything but easy, that difficult negotiations damage trust and patience and sometimes even overload it. But his request to the MPs and all the citizens of North Macedonia was to continue resolutely along the path of the membership process.

The EU membership process should bring concrete improvements for the people of the entire Western Balkans. This requires political and economic reforms as well as judicial reforms that benefit people in their daily lives. North Macedonia is on the right track, Steinmeier said.

Membership in the EU will open the doors for the citizens of North Macedonia to the common European market, the largest trading block in the world. I strongly believe that the intense bilateral relations between North Macedonia and Germany will continue to gain momentum.

“North Macedonia is already a valued business location for more than 200 companies with German capital, which are among the largest employers here in the country, employing around 20,000 people and providing training to many young people. More than 30 percent of North Macedonia’s exports go to Germany,” Shtejnmayer said.

After the visit to North Macedonia, Steinnmeier travels to Albania.

/a.p./