Skopje, 16 October 2024 (MIA) — President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova met with Ambassador of Finland Niklas Lindqvist on Wednesday.

According to an official press release, meeting participants said the two countries had built strong partnership relations over the past 30 years and maintained an active political dialogue, promoting common goals and strategic interests for lasting peace, stability and prosperity.

President Siljanovska Davkova expressed her gratitude for Finland's consistent and principled support of the Macedonian European integration and for its assistance in meeting EU criteria as well as for the successful cooperation through twinning projects.

She reaffirmed the position that state institutions would remain fully committed to reforms required for EU membership in accordance with the Copenhagen Criteria, and stressed the need for debilateralization of the process to prevent potential abuses of bilateral disputes on any EU candidate countries' paths to the EU, the press release says.

On international cooperation, the President said Finland's NATO membership was a significant step toward strengthening transatlantic stability and security for all allies. 

She also congratulated Finland on its upcoming OSCE chairpersonship, expressing readiness to share the Macedonian experience. She also reaffirmed the willingness to continue the cooperation within the UN, expressing hope for Finnish support for Macedonian candidacies in international organizations, the release says.

Siljanovska Davkova and Lindqvist also exchanged opinions on potential economic cooperation as well as bilateral cooperation in education, innovation and digitization. mr/