Skopje, 4 March 2025 (MIA) - The governments of Macedonia and Hungary held a joint session on Tuesday, discussing and aligning key issues of mutual interest, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a Facebook post.

"The session was held following bilateral meetings of the line ministers, which served as a basis for deepening and strengthening cooperation," PM Mickoski posted.

According to the Ministry of Transport, economic policies and infrastructural development of the region was the focal point of the meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikolovski and his Hungarian counterpart János Lázár.

“Macedonia and Hungary are two friendly countries fostering excellent economic and political relations. In the spirit of this friendship, we’re resuming our cooperation. Hungary’s support is crucial on the road to the European Union and I believe our cooperation will be beneficial for the Macedonian people,” said Deputy PM Nikoloski at the meeting.
 
Macedonia, he stressed, has strong investment plans to modernize the transport network and to that end, major infrastructural projects are under way that will boost the competitiveness of transport in the region, mainly on European corridors. The country, he noted, is committed to constructing high-speed railway along Corridor 10 and connecting Skopje and Budapest.

“This is why support from EU countries to implement this project is crucial,” Nikoloski said.

All the while briefing about accelerated activities to complete major capital projects, Nikoloski said that funding from the Hungarian loan has been already awarded to the municipalities to implement infrastructural projects, said the press release.

The two ministers also discussed ways to implement joint projects of regional interest, increase trade and investments. They shared views on how to boost bilateral and multilateral relations and stability in the region. Nikoloski expressed huge gratitude for Hungarian government’s unwavering support for Macedonia’s economic strengthening and its EU integration process, said the press release.

“These meetings with our Hungarian counterparts will result in major benefits for Macedonia and the region. And the Macedonian citizens are feeling these benefits. We’ve allocated 100 million euros to the municipalities, aimed at their development, through the financial support from Hungary. This year, 250 million euros are at disposal for projects in the municipalities. We have excellent economic and bilateral relations with Hungary and this year marks three decades from these relations. I believe it is the result of joint policies. These are the times that require strong friends and Hungary is a strong partner of Macedonia and a major supporter of the implementation of the country’s strategic goals,” the Deputy PM and Transport Minister stated.

 Minister of Defence Vlado Misajlovski said in a Facebook post that a new chapter is being opened in defence cooperation. 

"As part of the Hungarian-Macedonian government summit, at the meeting with my Hungarian counterpart Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, we discussed intensifying defence cooperation, which implies strengthening capacities, as well as opening up new opportunities in procurement for modernization and equipment," Misajlovski's post reads. 

Today's meeting, the Defence Minister added, is yet another step in building a safer and more secure future, because the security and well-being of our citizens is not only our duty – it is our obligation.

"Through the defence cooperation plan and the memorandum of understanding, which is in its final phase, we are strengthening trust and building a strong friendship. Cooperation in the area of military education and training, education, information exchange and conducting joint exercises contributes to all this. In June this year, we will witness the conduct of a joint exercise of our special operations units in Ohrid," Minister Misajlovski posted on Facebook. 

Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska said in a Facebook post that day two of the intergovernmental summit brings new opportunities for cooperation, adding that together with Hungary, the country is building stronger economic ties, friendship and prosperity for the citizens.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski said that as part of his working visit to Budapest, he met earlier on Tuesday with Levente Magyar, Hungary's State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

"Talks focused on the three-decade long friendship and progress of overall bilateral relations between the two countries, the excellent trade cooperation, as well as the prospects and challenges of the European integration process.

"We discussed further promoting bilateral cooperation, with a special emphasis on foreign trade and economic opportunities," FM Mucunski posted on Facebook. 

Minister of Interior Panche Toshkovski told the joint government session that plans and conclusions of last year’s first joint session in Ohrid are being implemented.

“Based on the memorandum of cooperation that the MoI training center and the Hungarian police school have signed, we expect intensive cooperation in this regard and we are planning to turn this initiative into a regional association of training centers, which would serve as a foundation of modern policing and professionalism of regional police services. At the bilateral meeting with my counterpart Sandor Pinter, we agreed to sign a memorandum of cooperation for joint training of units for special operations and anti-terrorism, as well as security detail. The memo is to be signed in the second half of 2025,” said Minister Toshkovski. 

Earlier in the day, Toshkovski met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Magyar Levente and representatives of the Hungarian business community, reviewing concrete initiatives and plans for enhancement of economic cooperation, the Ministry of Interior said in a press release. nn/ba/ik/

Photo: Facebook profiles of PM Hristijan Mickoski, the Ministers, Ministry of Transport