The talks with the chief of Macedonian diplomacy covered bilateral relations and Poland’s support for integration of North Macedonia in the EU. Minister Rau stressed the very good bilateral relations between the two countries, as reflected among others by the official visit of President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski to Poland in February 2020. Cooperation between the Polish Border Guard and North Macedonian services on preventing illegal migration is also an important element of these relations. The ministers agreed that bilateral trade and investment potential, as yet not fully tapped, needs to be unlocked. In this context, the chief of Polish diplomacy expressed his satisfaction with the Macedonian side’s plans to open a regional economic diplomacy office in Warsaw.

The ministers underlined that the future European integration of the Western Balkans is the only way towards ensuring the region’s stability, security, and prosperity. Minister Zbigniew Rau praised the government of North Macedonia for pursuing a policy of EU integration and developing transatlantic relations. He also expressed his hope that the Council of the EU will decide to adopt the negotiating framework with North Macedonia and Albania as soon as possible, and call intergovernmental conferences, which will be tantamount to the actual launch of accession negotiations.

The two ministers furthermore discussed points of cooperation within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which Poland will chair in 2022 and North Macedonia in 2023.

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photos: Tymon Markowski/MFA

Video: Gabriel Piętka/MFA