Skopje, 17 January 2022 (MIA) – North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani met Monday with Germany’s Minister of State for Europe and Climate, Anna Lührmann. “The visit comes very soon after she Minister Lührmann took over the office in the new German government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and just a day after the new government was elected in our country, whose commitment remains the same – Euro-Atlantic continuity with a priority on European integration as a strategic interest of North Macedonia,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. According to the Foreign Ministry, talks focused on the enlargement policy as an important tool of EU’s foreign activities and the country’s Euro-Atlantic dossier as a key one for the Union’s credibility, reaffirming the strong German commitment to North Macedonia’s European integration. “North Macedonia has proven that it strongly represents the European narrative of values and is a stable partner on the European scene that contributes to the well-being of the region. Start of accession negotiations will be a valorization of what has been achieved so far, which has largely been achieved with the support of Germany, whose foreign policy principally represents and values our European aspirations in this process,” Osmani pointed out. Minister Lührmann praised the country’s progress, stressing that it deserves to start accession negotiations and highlighting strong support towards achieving this common strategic goal. “The relations and cooperation between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Germany are characterized by an intensive political dialogue and substantial dynamics of cooperation in all areas. Germany is key political and economic partner of our country, as well as an important partner in the process of North Macedonia’s European integration. For a while now Germany has been our country’s largest trade partner. Through various regional EU projects, Germany supports our efforts in meeting the EU requirements and the necessary reforms as part of the European agenda,” reads the press release.