London, 22 May 2025 (MIA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski and UK Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports, Gareth Thomas signed Thursday in London the agreement on partnership for implementation of infrastructure projects, under which the country will have access to a historic amount of £5 billion for the realization of capital projects.

“We see the strategic partnership with the United Kingdom as something that will get Macedonia to a completely new level. We signed today agreement between the governments, which we refer to as government-to-government agreement for development of infrastructure projects in critical sectors such as transport, education, environment, information technology, and other sectors that we will develop, including healthcare and education. We will continue to cooperation in the forthcoming period,” Nikoloski said following the signing of the agreement.

“We are very thankful” Nikoloski said “that the UK Export Finance (UKEF) is setting a frame of £5 billion which is the biggest ever contract Macedonia signed in its history on the economic terms.”

"We see this as a great opportunity for the entire country to develop. We already have three projects prepared — the fast railway project on Corridor 10, a healthcare project for hospitals, and an education project for the Medical Faculty and student dorm. In the coming period, we will seek out new projects in the energy and environmental sectors, as well as other areas. What’s even more important for us is that we will use the experience and the best expertise of the British public administration and business sector, which will help raise both our administration and business community to a completely new level," Nikoloski emphasized.

UK Minister Thomas stressed that the two countries have very strong bilateral relations already as NATO allies, and assessed that the new partnership marks a significant step forward in the future trade between the two countries.

He expressed satisfaction with the opportunity for cooperation between Macedonian and British businesses in order to deliver important infrastructure projects in the country.“The government-to-government partnership will support the delivery of critical projects firstly with the focus on development of modern and healthcare facilities to improve access to essential services. As well as new railway to enhance connectivity and reduce travel time for both people and transport of goods. Infrastructure investment we know is key to driving economic growth and improving the lives of citizens, and I know it is shared goals for you, and it is a shared goal for our government too. This partnership is the new foundation to support that delivery to drive growth to share best practices between our two nations and crucially to take the relationship between you and ourselves to another level,” UK Minister Thomas said.

On Tuesday, the Macedonian government approved the text of the agreement, after Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and his British counterpart Keir Starmer reached an agreement on strategic partnership at a bilateral meeting held last week at the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Tirana. 

Deputy PM Nikoloski, who is heading a government delegation including Deputy PM and Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Izet Mexhiti, Minister of Education Vesna Janevska, and the Director of the Public Enterprise for Railway Infrastructure Sinisha Ivanovski, officially kicked off his working visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday with a meeting in London with the representatives from the UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Photo: screenshot/ Ministry of Transport