North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani evaluated the relations between the two countries on the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between North Macedonia and Türkiye. Osmani stated that the good relations between his country and Türkiye are based on the traditional spirit of partnership and friendship and that these relations are reflected in all areas of interstate communication, multifaceted cooperation, and social life, Daily Sabah writes.
"The relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and Türkiye have always been stable and stronger for 30 years. The Turkish community here and our people of North Macedonian living in Türkiye are like a cultural bridge between the two countries," he said.
Emphasizing that Türkiye was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of North Macedonia, Osmani said, "Very few people know the fact that Türkiye was the first to appoint an ambassador to North Macedonia. In other words, the first ambassador to Skopje after our country's independence came from Türkiye. From the beginning, we have never doubted the future of the country and the support this country will receive from Türkiye. Türkiye has supported our efforts to join international organizations throughout this period,” he said.
"Within the scope of the difficulties we encountered in our journey of being included in international organizations, the attitude of Türkiye has always been clear. In fact, it has often shown a different view from other countries in supporting North Macedonia,” he added.
He noted that there had been strategic partnership agreements with Türkiye since 2008. "This adds a different dimension to cooperation. Then this should turn into cooperation between people, institutions and states," he said.
Reminding that he visited Türkiye twice this year, Osmani stated that within the scope of both Ankara and Istanbul visits, it was agreed to set a new target for the commercial cooperation between the two countries to exceed 1 billion euros (TL 18 billion).
“We have set a target of 1 billion euros in trade volume. Türkiye ranked eighth in terms of trade cooperation volume with North Macedonia in 2020, seventh in 2021, and sixth in the first half of 2022. This shows that there is a positive trend in increasing the trade volume. As you know, Germany ranks first in terms of commercial cooperation. However, Türkiye is at the top of the list of countries with which we cooperate. This cooperation is diversified in all areas. From aviation to all other sectors, I don't think there is a sector where there is no Turkish company.”
