Skopje, 14 December 2023 (MIA) – Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski held a bilateral meeting Thursday with the Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), Nathalie Chuard, during which they signed an Agreement for the donation of lab equipment worth around EUR 50.000 for the needs of the Ministry’s Forensic Department.

The MoI said the Agreement was signed in line with the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of North Macedonia and DCAF, signed on October 19, 2022.

As DCAF’s development partners, the procurement of the equipment was financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Dutch Foreign Ministry, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The goal of the donation is to support the Interior Ministry in its efforts to improve its capacities to store and handle biological samples, minimize the risk of contamination and ensure high quality processing for DNA profiling.

Minister Spasovski expressed gratitude to DCAF for the technical assistance and expertise in the most significant reform processes over the past years, which, according to the Ministry, have largely contributed to the restoration of public trust in the police. Spasovski stressed the importance of the assistance and noted that as a result, North Macedonia is currently a leader in the region in terms of data exchange.

Ambassador Chuard voiced her belief that the cooperation between DCAF and the Ministry will only be strengthened and enriched in the future, and wished the country success in its EU accession talks.

After the meeting, delegations from the MoI and DCAF visited the new building of the Forensic Department and the laboratory that is set to house the equipment donated by DCAF.

Photo: MoI