Skopje, 28 January 2026 (MIA) - The transport sector plays a key role in the development of the regional economy and any restriction in the work of transporters will have a negative impact on the entire Western Balkan region, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski who met with President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović during a working visit to Zagreb.

According to the Ministry of Transport, Nikoloski pointed out that the situation with transporters poses a serious threat to economic stability and development.

"We also discussed the major issue that affects the entire region, and concerns transporters. I briefed the participants in the meeting on the situation in Macedonia and the region and I hope that the EU will find a solution so that professional drivers are not treated as tourists or migrants, but as professionals who can do their job. Anything other than that will mean a serious blow, not only to the Macedonian and regional economy but also to the European economy, given that numerous companies are export-oriented and do export, and numerous companies within the EU use our products. I reiterate appeals and I support the transporters' protest. This issue should be resolved as soon as possible to make sure that transporters don't face any problems as of April 10," Deputy PM Nikoloski said after the meeting.  

The Ministry of Transport notes that talks also tackled increasing trade exchange and greater cooperation between companies from the two countries.

"I hope that trade exchange will grow. I hope that we will reach half a billion euros, and in the future we can target up to 1 billion euros in exchange volume," said Minister Nikoloski.

President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović said the economic cooperation stands at around 330 million euros.

"We discussed numerous topics. What I'd like to point out is good economic cooperation, which stands at around 330 million euros. There is great potential for development, and we need to cooperate directly to increase this exchange. Of course, the infrastructure is important, which is under active development in Macedonia, and we are also in full swing. We also tackled the development of the railway infrastructure, which is on the rise in Croatia, and of course there is great potential for cooperation between Croatian and Macedonian companies," said Burilović.

Photo: Ministry of Transport