site.btaNorth Macedonia Signs Agreement on Political, Economic Cooperation with UK

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of the Republic of North Macedonia, Aleksandar Nikoloski, Thursday signed an agreement on political and economic cooperation between his country's government and the UK. The agreement provides North Macedonia with EUR 6 billion in funding for capital projects, according to the country's Transport Ministry. Gareth Thomas signed the agreement on behalf of the UK.

After the signing, Nikoloski said, as quoted by his Ministry, that the strategic partnership with the UK is something that will take North Macedonia to a new level. The agreement between the two governments is for infrastructure development projects in key sectors such as transport, education, environment, information technology, and other sectors that will be developed, including health, and the sides  will continue to cooperate in the next period, he noted. "We are sincerely grateful that the UK, with its external financing support facility, has set a framework of GBP 5 billion, which is the largest agreement signed by North Macedonia in its history in terms of the economy. We are sincerely grateful for this and see it as a great opportunity for the development of the whole country," the Minister of Transport said.

"We already have three projects ready. This is the Corridor X high-speed rail project, the healthcare project for the hospitals and, of course, the education project for the medical faculty, and in the coming period we will be looking for new projects in the energy and environment sectors, but also other projects, of course," the Minister also said.

The opposition SDSM party gave the agreement a mixed reception. In a statement to the media, the party's chairman, Venko Filipce, said that “with the new EUR 6 billion loan, the country's public debt will exceed 115% of the GDP” of North Macedonia. 

"We all see what is happening; it is obvious that VMRO-DPMNE is leading the country towards a cliff. Serious media in the UK are reporting that Balkan countries, including [North] Macedonia, will become reception centres for refugees unwanted in the UK. And the Prime Minister is silent, he has no position," Filipce said.

Approached for comment, North Macedonia's Prime Minister told journalists: "The UK Ambassador gave a clear answer to this question, and that answer is that there is no such thing. This issue came up after an agreement was signed in Albania between the Prime Minister there and the Prime Minister of a European Union country to build camps where Albania will accept several tens of thousands of migrants. Thus the topic was moved here, but is now closed. I understand that some of the opposition and their supporters are trying to irritate the public, thinking that they will tarnish this strategic agreement and damage the image and work of the Government. Rest assured that there will be no such thing in our country."