Over EUR 10.3 million have been invested since the start of the current programming period so far in the municipalities of the border region of Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia under the cross-border cooperation program. This was announced by Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Petya Avramova, who together with the Minister of Local Self-Government of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Goran Milevski handed 17 new contracts to the beneficiaries under the second call for proposals worth more than 5.1 mln.

Seven of the projects have leading partners from the Republic of Northern Macedonia and 10 - with leading partners from the Bulgarian regions Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil.

To date, 46 projects have been implemented between the two countries. They are for initiatives to protect the environment, mitigate the effects of natural disasters and climate change, protect the local population from floods and fires and make sustainable use of natural resources, promote traditional culture and protect the cultural heritage, develop a favorable tourist environment, supporting social entrepreneurship among young people and improving the competitiveness of regional business.