Skopje, 14 October 2025 (MIA) - Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski said Tuesday the country will get its first national artificial intelligence center "Vezilka: AI Antenna Factory", supported by the EU's Horizon Europe programme and the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) initiative.

"This capital project is of historic significance, a new page in Macedonia's digital development, through which the Government, universities and the industry are jointly building a national AI system. The Skopje-based Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering (FINKI) is the project leader, supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Government," said Andonovski.

The Vezilka project is worth close to EUR 6 million, co-funded by the European Union, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Government and FINKI.

"The project positions Macedonia as an active member of the European network of AI centers, representing an enormous step forward for our academic and tech community. As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday, the EU has recognized that the power of super computers and the AI infrastructure is a fundamental prerequisite for technological autonomy and competitiveness. In this regard, she said such AI factories will open in the Western Balkans, including antennas in Macedonia and Serbia," said Andonovski.

Vezilka is set to operate as an adjacent center of the Pharos AI Factory seated in Greece, ensuring direct access to European super-computers and advanced datasets, which would be available to public institutions, startups, companies and researchers.

"In this way, we will join the European AI structure, meaning new opportunities for development, research, international cooperation and digital innovation. Nevertheless, the project has a higher purpose - building a national ecosystem for accountable and credible AI use," said Andonovski.

The first of five priority areas is development of language models and digital protection of cultural heritage, while the others include the use of AI in healthcare, energy, public administration and agriculture.

Vezilka will also set up an AI training center, aimed to develop people's skills and knowledge about the new digital economy, leading the country into the next digital decade.

"We are creating a system, not ad hoc projects. Vezilka symbolizes our vision - Macedonia as a digitally sovereign state with a strong scientific and innovation foundation. This step turns the country into an active partner in the European tech-space, rather than an observer," said Andonovski.

Photo: MIA