Skopje, 12 January 2024 (MIA) - Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski welcomed Friday Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar, who is on official visit to North Macedonia with highest state honors.

This is the first official visit of an Irish PM to North Macedonia to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties with Ireland, the Government said in a press release.

Interlocutors will hold a tête-à-tête meeting, followed by a bilateral meeting between the two delegations, and a joint press conference.

The Macedonian delegation is made up of Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj, Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska, and Minister of Information Society and Administration, Azir Aliu.

PM Varadkar arrived this afternoon at the Skopje international airport, where he was welcomed by Deputy PM Marichikj.

"Today I welcomed the Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar to Skopje. PM Varadkar is on a visit to North Macedonia as part of his plan to visit three EU candidate-countries from the region. His visit to the Western Balkans comes at a time as we are continuing EU enlargement negotiations," Marichikj said, assessing the visit as a positive signal for the European perspective of the region and country.

PM Varadkar will also meet with President Stevo Pendarovski. ssh/sk/

Photo/video: Government