ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF PRESS STATEMENT BY THE HON’BLE PRESIDENT DURING STATE VISIT TO NORTH MACEDONIA

I am delighted to be in this beautiful country. I express my sincere gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to me and my delegation during the visit.

This is the first ever State visit by an Indian President to North Macedonia since the establishment of our diplomatic relations. I am confident that this visit will herald a new chapter in our bilateral relationship.

This morning, I had a very productive meeting with Her Excellency the President, followed by fruitful delegation-level talks. We discussed the full range of bilateral cooperation, and also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. We reaffirmed the deep and friendly ties between India and North Macedonia, grounded in shared democratic values and mutual respect.

Economic cooperation is an extremely important pillar of our bilateral relationship. We agreed to promote greater trade and investment and encourage closer cooperation between our businesses. We also agreed to double our bilateral trade. We discussed cooperation in key sectors, including IT/ITES, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textile and bio-tech, tourism, hospitality, and film-making. The India-North Macedonia Business Forum being organized today will provide a good platform to discuss these issues.

We are also renewing our bilateral MoU on cooperation in healthcare. We agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of healthcare, particularly for promotion of traditional systems of medicine.

Culture and people-to-people ties have always been among the strongest pillars of our relationship. Collaboration in the field of creative industry is an important aspect of cultural exchanges.

India seeks to foster international cooperation through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Global Biofuels Alliance. I welcome North Macedonia’s intent to join these initiatives. Participation in these international initiatives would enable North Macedonia to draw on global best practices and technical expertise to promote renewable energy and disaster resilience.

I take this opportunity to announce our decision to double the number of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training slots for North Macedonia, which will also include courses in Artificial Intelligence.

I am looking forward to jointly unveiling with Her Excellency the President of North Macedonia, a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Museum of Skopje. This is a special gift from the people of India to the people of Macedonia, and symbolises the shared values and principles which unite our two nations.

Once again, I extend my sincere thanks to Her Excellency the President of North Macedonia for her gracious hospitality and warm welcome. I am confident that my visit will further consolidate the multifaceted partnership between India and North Macedonia and take it to new heights in the years ahead.

Thank you.