At today's joint meeting of the governments of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, three memoranda of understanding were signed for cooperation in agriculture, between small and medium enterprises, and for the development of the Sofia-Skopje railway, which is part of the large Corridor №8 project.

Highlights of the Joint Meeting between Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia

“The new approach is already yielding results”, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on the occasion of the three memoranda signed. Dimitar Kovachevski, for his part, pointed out the criteria for the success of the working groups, which will meet every week in the coming months. He gave two examples - to build a 13-kilometer road to Klepalo by 2023 and to have a border checkpoint there, and in early March for the working groups to be able to present the specifics of the Sofia-Skopje airline.

Naturally, the number one goal of the Macedonian government is to hold an intergovernmental meeting to mark the start of Skopje's EU membership talks.

At the end of the joint session of the governments, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that the co-chairs of the Multidisciplinary Commission on Historical and Educational Affairs had shown a desire for intensive work and constructive talks.

Petkov categorically stated that on the Bulgarian side there are no changes in the composition of the joint historical commission. Three meetings of the historical commission are forthcoming in the next 4 months, the first in February.

“Professors on both sides have shown that they are ready for this new breath of extra energy to turn into a constructive tone and constructive talks. So, at this moment we will not make personnel changes,” said the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

The EC welcomes the Dialogue between the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovachevski, said that the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia must be constitutionally guaranteed, as is typical of a European country. But he pointed out that this is a process that requires a lot of time.

“This process requires constitutional changes with more steps and the involvement of more institutions. As long as this happens, and it is normal for such a thing to happen on the way of a country to the European Union because then the Constitution is opened in order to make other adaptations of it, then in this process, of course, this will be covered and as well as questions based on citizens' demands,” Kovachevski said.

Both prime ministers ensured that political issues were discussed alongside the work of working groups on the sectors of economy and infrastructure, European integration, and culture. The discussion of Protocol 4 + 1 - the list of Bulgaria's requests for resolving bilateral disputes - continues.

/BNR

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