Skopje, 14 July 2025 (MIA) -- All bank loan offers the country has received for the Corridor X high-speed rail are confidential but the public should rest assured the government will choose the most affordable one instead of "signing contracts like smugglers abusing the European flag," said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski in response to a reporter about the offered interest rates. 

Mickoski declined to disclose any details regarding the rates. "I can't tell you this because the offers are confidential," he said. "I would not like to mention any figures, either, until they pass at a government session. The interest is great."

He said the government would soon form a workgroup to review the offers.

Previously, Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska said the Ministry of Finance had sent inquiries to 22 international financial institutions and another two asked to be also considered. She said the government was looking to select the bid "with the lowest price for the railway."

According to an earlier Ministry of Finance press release, requests were sent to the World Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the European Investment Bank; the OPEC Fund for International Development; the French Development Agency; Germany’s KfW Development Bank; the Italian Development Bank; the Japan International Cooperation Agency; Germany’s DZ Bank; Deutsche Bank; Morgan Stanley; Citibank; JP Morgan; Bank of America; Goldman Sachs; Austria’s UniCredit Bank; Raiffeisen Bank; Erste Bank; France’s Société Générale; Italy’s Banca IMI; UK-based Standard Chartered; and Japan’s MUFG Bank.

Commenting on US President Donald Trump's tariffs, Mickoski said if the US and the EU did not agree on the tariffs it would affect the country, too, but "we will maintain our macroeconomic balance and stability through clear and concise policies so citizens do not feel it."

"We are in negotiations with the USA. I am optimistic they are going in the right direction," the prime minister said.

"We are focused on reaching a deal by the end of this month that would attain more for the Macedonian ecoonomy and Macedonian citizens," Mickoski said. mr/