Skopje, 16 September 2021 (MIA) – Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Thursday opened the joint session of the governments of North Macedonia and Kosovo by welcoming Prime Minister Albin Kurti who led the government from Pristina on a working visit to Skopje, the government said in a press release after the joint session. The first-ever joint session of the governments of North Macedonia and Kosovo, PM Zaev pointed out, reaffirms the excellent friendly relations, close cooperation, constant upgrading of mutual interests, and the common commitment to the Western Balkans as a region of lasting peace, fully integrated in the EU and NATO. “I’m convinced that the session will result in several projects that will enable closer cooperation between the governments and the competent ministries and institutions, and are in the interest of our citizens. There are many more opportunities ahead of us. We are connected by many common interests, so our economies are oriented towards each other ,” PM Zaev said. Zaev stressed that the joint session puts in the foreground the agreements and memoranda for infrastructure connection of the two countries in order to facilitate and promote economic cooperation and communication, as well as those on cross-border projects with the support of the EU IPA programs, cooperation in energy, as well as in tourism, culture, etc. “North Macedonia is ready to share with the Kosovo the experience from our NATO integration on your path to membership in the Alliance. Together we are on the path to full EU integration. We expect to start negotiations with the EU soon, and in the future we will be able to cooperate even more closely in this area,” said Zaev. PM Albin Kurti expressed his condolences over the victims of the fire at the modular hospital in Tetovo, and all victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, reads the press release. According to him, this first-ever session is an expression of will to mark a more intensive phase of mutual cooperation, as well as an expression of gratitude for the good neighborly relations. “The path of both our countries, as well as of the other countries in the region is that of cooperation, inclusion and mutual respect, where we’re not wary of each other because we know that our destinies and the destinies of our citizens are connected and our future is common,” said PM Kurti. First Deputy Prime Minister of the government of North Macedonia, Artan Grubi, agreed that the joint session of the two governments is a historic event and thanked for the energy of all those involved in the preparation of the joint session. “Yet another door has been opened for promoting the cooperation in many areas,” said Grubi, adding that the energy in the organization of the joint session will be transferred to the implementation of the memoranda and agreements signed on Thursday. Kosovo’s First Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi thanked for the warm welcome and the opportunity to share at the joint session the experiences of the two countries in the EU integration process. He pointed out that the start of North Macedonia’s EU accession talks will be a success for Kosovo as well, because it will have a neighbor that can help a lot in Kosovo’s aspirations to join the European Union, the press release reads. “Later in the session other Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers also joined in to discuss economic cooperation, cooperation in the fight against organized crime and corruption, joint management in natural disasters, etc.,” the press release adds. Participants in the joint session also announced joint initiatives in environmental protection, cooperation in rural development and agriculture projects, legal aid in civil proceedings, cross-border cooperation and cooperation in projects on support to North Macedonia and Kosovo on the path to EU. At the end of the joint session, PM Zaev voiced confidence that in the coming period the ministers of the two governments will be committed to implementing the tasks arising from the documents signed on Thursday and it will give an impetus to further development of cooperation in many other areas in the future. In the ceremonial part of the session, the prime ministers of the two governments and relevant ministers signed memoranda of understanding between the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo on a feasibility study for the Prizren-Tetovo road, and rehabilitation of the Blace buffer zone. In addition, participants in the joint session signed an agreement on diaspora cooperation, a status of forces agreement (SOFA), protocol on implementing agreement between the government of North Macedonia and the government of Kosovo on border regulation of railway traffic, memorandum of cooperation in the energy sector, agreement on cooperation in tourism, memorandum of cooperation in innovation and technological development and entrepreneurship, partnership agreement between Kosovo, represented by the Ministry of Local Self-Government as a partner leader and North Macedonia, represented by the Ministry of Local Self-Government as a partner for managing the grant agreement for technical assistance 2019/410-322, under the IPA program Kosovo - North Macedonia 2014/2020. A memorandum of cooperation was also signed between North Macedonia’s Ministry of Local Self-Government and Kosovo’s Ministry of Regional Development, as well as a memorandum of cooperation between North Macedonia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and Kosovo’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development.