Strumica, 25 September 2025 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski alongside Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov during Thursday's visit to Strumica, inspected reconstruction works at the city's old theatre, which had been stalled for seven years.

According to Mickoski, they are sending a clear message that after October 19, there will be a new mayor in Strumica who comes from the ranks of VMRO-DPMNE and the coalition, as well as a majority in the Council.

"We have a fairly ambitious agenda for the day after, to do more projects, to implement more projects, to implement everything that has been promised so far, but was not implemented or was forgotten. As a Government, we continue to support the municipalities, remember in the first call of the Ministry of Local Self-Government, Strumica did not submit a project, i.e. it submitted one project that did not meet the requirements. But, now in the second call, it submitted several projects, streets in general for asphalting and reconstruction, and all those projects were approved by the Government, and we will finance them in the coming period. As a Government, we want to send a message that we are the Government of all of Macedonia, of all municipalities," said Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski.  

According to Minister Zoran Ljutkov, the theatre is a symbol of the cultural memory of the city of Strumica and the entire Southeast region.

"The Government and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism provided Mden 198 million (about EUR 3.5 million) for the completion of the facility. Immediately after our coming to power in 2024, a detailed audit of the project was conducted, all phases of construction to date were analysed, and a new contractor has already been selected. According to the dynamics of the work, the project will be fully completed by the end of 2026," Ljutkov noted.

As part of Thursday's visit, the government delegation also visited the Church of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, where intensive work is underway within a restoration and conservation project, worth Mden 15 million, and work on the roof and facade is in its final phase.

Today also saw the opening of the renovated Blagoj Jankov-Mucheto Memorial House, a project worth Mden 2.5 million. 

"Blagoj Jankov-Mucheto is not just a hero from history. He is a symbol of the struggle for a free, progressive and democratic Macedonia. He was part of a generation that did not wait for freedom, but fought for it, with vision and revolutionary energy. We must not allow his work to remain just a part of the past. It should be a living example of what true patriotism looks like, what love for the people and the country looks like. May it be a reminder that freedom is not earned, but deserved," Minister Ljutkov said at the opening event.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has allocated around EUR 4 million from its budget for cultural projects in the municipality of Strumica, which, in addition to the ongoing ones, also include projects for the church in the village of Vodocha and the Roman Baths in the village of Bansko.

Photo: MIA