Skopje, 21 October 2021 (MIA) – On the sidelines of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments taking place in Athens, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi met on Thursday with the Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, Lotta Johnsson Fornarve. “Xhaferi stressed excellent and friendly bilateral relations and expressed appreciation for Sweden’s continuous support for the democratic and economic development of North Macedonia through various projects, as well as for EU enlargement policy. He commended the Riksdag’s initiative to cooperate with North Macedonia’s Parliament on democratic development and thanked Johnsson Fornarve as one of the initiators of that partnership,” Parliament said in a press release. Xhaferi also briefed Johnsson Fornarve on current affairs in North Macedonia, the local elections, results of the first round and the EU integration process and expressed hopes that the dispute with Bulgaria will be resolved by the end of the year so that North Macedonia can start EU accession talks. “Johnsson Fornarve underlined successful cooperation between Parliament and Riksdag and expressed expectations that both counties will benefit from joint activities and exchange of experiences. She also announced that Macedonian MPs are set to pay a visit to Sweden in December,” read the release. Moreover, she stressed Sweden’s strong support for North Macedonia’s EU accession and expressed assurance that issues can be resolved if both sides are willing.