Skopje, 11 June 2024 (MIA) - Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi met Tuesday with French Ambassador Cyril Baumgartner and reaffirmed the excellent ties between the two countries and parliaments.

Gashi thanked France for its support on all levels related to the country's NATO and EU membership, the Parliament said in a press release.

Gashi thanked French senators and MPs on their active commitment in the improvement of relations, especially MPs Liliana Tangi and Bertrand Sorre, and their unequivocal support for our European integration process. As his first priority in the new mandate, he reaffirmed his commitment to EU membership and efforts in achieving the country’s strategic goal.

Baumgartner congratulated Gashi and wished him success in the post as the new Parliament Speaker on behalf of French authorities, the French Republic, and himself personally.

He underlined the positive trend of dynamic parliamentary cooperation between Macedonian and French MPs, especially the cooperation groups and within the sections in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie.

The Ambassador also highlighted the Youth Francophone Parliament educational activity titled “I have an Opinion!" in March marking Francophonie Month, which gives the opportunity to secondary Francophone students to act as MPs for a day and decide on important topics that affect young people - a cross-party consensus for issues related to EU membership.

Interlocutors also exchanged opinions on the upcoming parliamentary activities of the current French parliamentary composition for the upcoming European elections. It was concluded that it is necessary to establish friendship groups between both parliaments as soon as possible, as well as то continue the intense parliamentary cooperation in the coming period. ssh/ik/

Photo: Parliament