Skopje, 27 July 2023 (MIA) - Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Ljupcho Nikolovski, attending a work visit in Slovenia on Thursday, met with Slovenian Minister for Agriculture, Irena Šinko, to discuss continuing cooperation and support for the development of the agro sector, with special emphasis on involving and motivating young people in agriculture, and developing cooperatives as a strong factor for developing agriculture.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy announced in a press release that interlocutors shared experiences in the fight against illegal logging and forest fire protection, drawing positive experiences from Slovenia, which will be applied in North Macedonia as well through the new reforms being implemented in the forestry and reorganization of the National Forests public enterprise.

Minister Nikolovski emphasized that Slovenia is our unreserved supporter and trusted friend from which we draw experiences from in many areas, and that they are a positive example on which we can create a greener North Macedonia.

"Within the region, Slovenia is a success story for cooperatives. There, they are a strong factor that provides farmers with a profitable business. Which is exactly why we can use this experience, especially since this year we have implemented a new programme for supporting cooperatives, in order to motivate Macedonian farmers to come together and use the benefits from cooperatives. Your success story about the growing participation of young people in this sector is especially important, which is why today and Friday we will visit a few farms managed by young farmers who use modern technology, digitalization and innovative solutions. These experiences can be of huge importance for us, which we will convey to our young farmers," Nikoloski stressed.

He also thanked for the long-standing successful cooperation and friendship between North Macedonia and Slovenia, especially for the cooperation which, on a technical level, was recently realized in various forms, mainly, in the support of North Macedonia’s European integration process.

Numerous experts from Slovenia were actively involved and helped the process of harmonizing the legislation of North Macedonia with that of EU, and through the IPA projects, significant support was issued in the process of institutional strengthening of the Ministry, in order to meet EU's standards and criteria, the press release adds. ssh/sk/

Photo: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy