Skopje, 14 July 2022 (MIA) – Swedish Ambassador Kristin Forsgren Bengtsson held Thursday a farewell meeting with Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, who thanked her for the work on the improvement of bilateral relations and the strong support for North Macedonia's European integration. Speaker Xhaferi referred to the role of the Embassy in mediating the implementation of the initiative of the Swedish Riksdag on cooperation for democratic development with the Parliament, stressing that getting to know good practices from Sweden's many years of parliamentary experience is also for the members of Parliament was very significant, as evidenced by their great interest and active participation, the Parliament said in a press release. Xhaferi used the opportunity to congratulate the signing of the accession protocols and the beginning of the ratification process of Sweden's membership in the NATO and expressed his belief that at a time when the continent is facing a major security crisis, Sweden's membership will make a significant contribution to common security. At the same time, he expects that the ratification of the accession protocols will swiftly reach the deputies, sending an invitation to the Speaker of the Riksdag to attend this formal act in the Parliament of North Macedonia should he be available. Ambassador Forsgren Bengtsson expressed satisfaction that during her three-year term, the country fulfilled one of its strategic goals - NATO membership - and is now on the threshold of fulfilling the second goal, membership in the European Union. Turning to bilateral relations, she emphasized they are showing an upward trend with the visits at the highest level between the two countries, and she assessed the cooperation for democratic development as extremely significant for the bilateral parliamentary cooperation, noting that the topics and not the political affiliation bring together the MPs from the two legislative houses during mutual study visits. Bengtsson emphasized that Sweden's strong and stable support for the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia will continue in the next period, especially through the Strategy 2021-2027, noting that at the same time when the country is knocking on the door of the EU, Sweden is knocking on the door of NATO. She expressed hope that the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership protocol will happen soon, reads the press release. dk/ik/