Skopje, 25 June 2025 (MIA) - As part of his working visit to France, Deputy PM and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski met Wednesday with French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, for talks on promoting mutual cooperation in railways, air traffic and highways. 
 
According to the Ministry of Transport, this is an important meeting on the relations between the two countries in the area of transport. 

"Today we had an excellent meeting with the Minister of Transport of the French Republic. It is a great honour for me and the Macedonian Government to be received at a high level. We will now build on the excellent cooperation we have. We discussed cooperation that is quite developed in the area of ​​air traffic, the airports in Skopje and in Ohrid are operated by a French company. We also discussed increasing cooperation in the area of ​​​​railways and highways," Nikoloski said after the meeting with Tabarot. 

In terms of railways, he added that he presented the plans for the development of Corridors 10 and 8. 

"Macedonia has a unique position where the two corridors intersect east of Skopje, and we need to develop both. Regarding Corridor 8, which is of strategic importance for NATO, we discussed what we can do to complete the eastern part of the railway, and develop the western part of the railway, of course to connect with Italy, Albania and Bulgaria and to connect the Ionian and Adriatic Seas with the Black Sea," said Nikoloski. 

As regards Corridor 10, the Minister pointed out that it is the most important trade corridor in the Balkans, adding that talks focused on what can be done to build a high-speed railway and thus connect the southern ports of Europe with Middle and Central Europe.

"There is significant that we will use from France. France is a leader, especially in rail transport, and we will work a lot together. Yesterday, we held a meeting with 11 of the biggest French companies that are welcome to invest in Macedonia," Deputy PM and Minister of Transport Nikoloski noted.

Minister Tabarot said France is at the country's disposal for cooperation.

"Cooperation is excellent in the area of air traffic with the company that manages the airports in your country. Cooperation is also good in the area of civil aviation, and it is constantly being improved. The purpose of today's meeting is to also cooperate on other projects, primarily in the area of railway traffic, because there are French companies that are developed and advanced. We hope for cooperation with your country, economic but above all friendly, towards establishing joint projects and sharing our experience on projects that were initiated several years ago, and then renewed, so that you can implement ambitious projects in your country, which is unavoidable in the Balkans. We are at your country's disposal for joint cooperation," French Transport Minister Tabarot said after the meeting. 

Photo: Ministry of Transport