Skopje, 26 December 2024 (MIA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski in his remarks at the North Macedonia -Türkiye Business Forum organized by the Economic Chamber and Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEİK) in Skopje on Thursday said businesspeople should seize the opportunity to exchange views and cooperate in the field of digital transition as well as in other areas of mutual interest.

He called on the present entrepreneurs to cooperate more and more successfully, adding that the Government was at their disposal and fully supported the facilitation of business plans and ideas for building a more promising future for both countries and citizens.

"Cooperation with the Republic of Türkiye is our significant priority given the economic opportunities for further increasing and balancing external trade, and joint participation in third markets and investments in infrastructure and capital projects. Trade cooperation between the two countries is characterized by an upwards trend of development, evidenced by the fact that the volume of trade exchange in 2022 reached USD 1 billion. According to current trends, this year we are expected to exceed that mark," Mucunski stressed.

He pointed out that the desired goal for the future was to establish a more balanced foreign trade exchange between the countries in order to reduce our deficit.

"The Republic of Türkiye, as before, remains a very important cooperation partner in the field of investments. More than 2.000 Turkish companies recognize this potential and have taken the advantage and benefits of doing business in our country," he said, adding that the Government would continue to support such investments.

In recent years Turkish tourists have been continuously ranked in the first place of foreign visitors in our country, but a large number of Macedonian tourists also visit Türkiye.

Economic Chamber head Branko Azeski said he expected new Turkish investments in the country, joint participation in third foreign markets, and a larger presence of Macedonian companies in Turkish fairs, which could be a jumping point to other larger markets in the world.

"Macedonia and Türkiye have always shared excellent relations on an economic and political level. Macedonia with the economic cooperation receives a market of over 80 million citizens and more, Türkiye is our important trade partner, and although exchange is not great, there is room for improvement. At the very least, I expect to maintain the capacity for economic cooperation at the current level and with the same intensity, if not more. It is guarantee enough that we can ensure a secure market for our companies," Azeski said.

Tamer Kiran, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), said that the existing free trade agreement and continuous improvement of the investment climate expands and strengthens the range of bilateral and trade relations between the two countries.

"We are sure that the trade exchange will soon exceed USD 1 billion. The number of Turkish investments and the number of our companies operating in North Macedonia is constantly increasing. Turkish investments in the country are nearing USD 2 billion," Kiran said.

"TOBB," he added, "closely cooperates with the Economic Chamber and Azeski, and I am confident that we can raise economic relations to an enviable level." ssh/mr