Skopje, 16 January 2024 (MIA) — Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Ljupcho Nikolovski said he had nothing to do with the employment of his uncle and nephew in the Macedonian air navigation service provider M-NAV. He voiced regret that the press, instead of asking questions about agriculture, the basis of the Macedonian economy, were trying to spread misinformation.

Answering journalist's questions after signing an agreement with the Spanish consulting company Globaltek for the preparation of a technical study for integrating floating photovoltaic plants into national irrigation network, Minister Nikolovski said the country should open its doors to young professionals instead of sending them a message they were not welcome here.

"My duty is to work honestly, expertly, sincerely, accountably and professionally. I am paid to care about Macedonian agriculture, to work in the interests of farmers and the media should pay more attention to that," Nikolovski said.

"Let me reiterate: My uncle was a M-NAV employee before I was born, and my nephew was educated for 20 years outside the country, in Japan, China and Slovenia," he said, adding that his relatives were highly professional in their jobs.

"My uncle was working in M-NAV 40-50 years ago. Do you think that someone who was not yet born could influence someone's professional training and employment before 1983?

"Is this the most important topic to you? Why weren't you at the briefing when we rounded up what was done in agriculture in 2023?

"It is not right to send the message that quality should not be valued. We need to open the doors [to professionals]. Everyone has equal chances. I have not influenced anyone. There was also an anticorruption commission procedure that has been completely closed. You can ask the institutions what the procedure was about and whether the person was qualified," the agriculture minister said.

He said that while in the post of Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Fight against Corruption and Crime, Sustainable Development and Human Resources, his team had "set an example that it is possible to put an end to nepotism, party influences and partisanship."

"I have been fighting for every young person to stay here, instead of demotivating them by sending the message: 'This place is no good, run away!' I regret that instead of being interested in agriculture topics, you are trying to directly spread falsehoods and lies. We held a press briefing on the year of over 100 projects, but alas, they were not promoted," the agriculture minister said. mr/